Family Tree

I love Thanksgiving. I was told that I said that atleast 1000x. I don't care, I still love it. It seems as if the day is touched with a little bit of the magic that will make its debut during the Christmas season. The food seems more delicious. Desserts seem to appear on empty plates. And people...hmmm, ever notice how people change. Or perhaps it's their true nature that comes out. That divine spark we're born with but manage to cover up during a lifetime.

My family is close but during the holidays we are much more. Even my dad was a different person during the holidays; he loved these two holidays. I watched everyone yesterday. It was as if I was looking at these people for the first time. Pretty cool clan I have there. There were about 20 of us squeezed in but we managed to eat together around tables created with plywood planks. I reconnected with a godchild I haven't seen in 10 years; and a new one who I know will grow up to ride a Harley. I know it sounds tacky to say I could feel the love but yep, I could feel it and see it in the smiles and squeeze hugs.

We then went to my brother-in-law's home where the group was much smaller but the love was just as strong. There I learned that that particular type of love isn't reserved just for families. They treat my son and I as if we've always been a part of them; not just having joined them a year ago. This is the first Thanksgiving without Daddy Ed but he was included in talk, prayers, toasts, and you could feel his presence. There was a new face and one that made the biggest impact. He worked with market exchanges, had a car & home, made good money and now he's homeless. When the market crashed he had to sell everything. He stored his remaining belongings in a storage facility and was living in it when my brother-in-law heard of his predicament. He now lives in a friend's basement. He is extremely thankful, feels badly that he's living with someone free of charge, and is doing everything he can to get back on his feet. I was disturbed when I heard he has a mom. Who refuses to allow him to live with her. Then I looked around and thought it was okay. He found family in this amazing group of people who make up my new family.

This year I feel as if I've removed blinders and everything appears to be different. Then I realized that at this time of year I'm usually running around worried about what to buy and dealing with shopping after Thanksgiving. The commercialism. Not this year. And that has made all the difference. I realized I have a different kind of family tree. A strong one - one that will keep living and growing no matter what. One made up of blood ties and spirit ties.                                                             Pretty cool.