Long Time Coming

I have been absurdly busy over the last month (as I have already lamented...get used to it). I have composed some brilliant, sensitive, and insightful blogs, but they never made it from my brain to the blog. So sad for all of you. Those words and thoughts could have changed the world-alas, it was not meant to be.

What WAS meant to be was my attendance at this year's 20th annual Babin family reunion (the Andoga's are a branch of the Babin's...I'm not sure how, but our family tree is quite spread out now, so I pretty much just take it at face value). I love getting to visit with my cousins, but this year there was a marked difference between me and the girls I have grown up with (we're all about the same age). Missy is married with two kids, Cheryl is married and preparing for kids, and Ashley is engaged and living with her fiancee. They all have good jobs, plans for the future, and are the absolute picture of the all-American family.

Then there's me.

I'm sure by now everyone who knows me can easily enumerate the differences between those responsible tax-paying cousins and myself. What struck me this year was the realization that I will never be like them...and I'M GLAD. I finally see all the adventures the world has to offer to someone like me. I finally see that even if and when I have a family, it will be a totally different kind of family...and the world NEEDS my kind of family. I finally see that preparation and planning are good things (I learned that the hard way!), but the ability to veer off the beaten path and discover new and exciting roads (even if they sometimes turn out rougher and more dangerous) is a most valuable asset. I finally see that being different is not a negative, but a positive. My cousins have chosen the lifestyle best for them. Certainly there are aspects of their life I find appealing and envy-worthy. But I finally see how MY life could and should be cause for jealousy. I finally see how good I have it.

Finally I have found gratitude for my life.