Growing up with my incredible parents and siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and late grandparents that I have has taught me so many things, like how to hold my own or that hard work pays off. I’d like to thank all of you especially you, Mom and Dad, for molding me into this woman that I am. I know that it hasn’t always seemed like it but I am so grateful for having been brought up in this crazy, wonderful family.
I was taught that family comes first. The saying that family is everything has a very special meaning to me, I would not trade this family for anything in the world. There is no greater bond to me than the bond of family, blood or not. Grandpa held all of us together and he instilled in us the need for a supportive and loving family. We don’t tear each other down but rather build one another up and we revel in each others success and are supportive in our failures. We all have those people that have changed our lives and will forever be considered family but there is still something so special, so sacred, about sharing a history with someone that started before you, or even your parents were born.
In a family like ours, we have to be accepting and supportive of others… Even if those cousins are always late or that uncle really gets under your skin. We learn to love each others’ flaws because there is no other choice, we are family and we wouldn’t want it any other way. But yes, we love each other but sometimes you all make me want to rip my hair out!
Life gets loud. Whether it’s Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas, Memorial day, or Labor Day it’s bound to get crazy with this big of a family. I’ve learned to love the craziness, learned to love having ten people staying at my house for Christmas, learned to love the loud. I couldn’t imagine having a quiet Christmas or a small Thanksgiving dinner. The family is growing with all the little kids and people getting married and it’s so very exciting to invite new people into our family.
You have instilled in me a resilience, created in me a strong person. As each of us face a hardship or a loss, we have people to lean on. I am strong enough to handle anything life throws at me because I have such a big support system. We are do it yourselfers and hard workers, built by a drive to achieve more and to achieve it with those that love us.
For family, those that love me and those that I love, I would give anything. Family does not abandon family, whether you are blood or not, and that’s a lesson I’m so grateful to have learned. So thank you all, for shaping my childhood and my future. I don’t take this family for granted, you guys are awesome and I love you.
