The Importance of Family

I'll be the first to admit that generally speaking, I'm a bit of a Negative Nancy.  I spend a fair amount of time dwelling on how much better my life would be if I just had                   .  The blank is often filled with money signs, faster cars, sprawling homes with room to spare, and eager babysitters.  The aforementioned luxuries aren't things we're terribly lost without but on any given Wednesday, it doesn't hurt to wish a little.

This past month and a half has felt a little like one catastrophic fuck fest after the next.  (sorry for the language folks, but this is real and I say fuck - a lot.)   Without going into too much detail, I'll sum it up in a few words and you can fill in the blanks:  job loss, oral surgery, panic attacks, terrible twos, stolen wallets, broke down cars, overdraft fees, and more oral surgery.  Am I leaving anything out?  Oh yeah, contaminated cortisone shots a la Michigan Pain Specialists and a spinal tap to boot for my poor dad.  Like I said - fuck fest.

If there is one minutely not totally fucking shitty thing about times of crisis, it's their inherit ability to bring people together.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, my family is seriously legit.  We pull together and help each other out when things get bad and usually come out things pretty alright.  These shitty times also serve as a reminder of how good we really had it, before what ever adversity ensued.  By the end of the week, I'm longing for our small house and empty bank account.

This month was particularly crappy, but I'm sure it beat the hell out of someone else's week.  Fortunately, surgery went well and Dad's test came back good.  For the first time in a long while, I'm feeling really happy.  Happy to be sitting my warm house with my little girl nibbling crackers next to me.  Happy to have a family who supports and loves me and a fella at home who will make soup and fetch me medicine. It's so difficult to be thankful in the moment, but I'm working on it.