things my family taught me

I have never been shy about telling people I was adopted. Since my last post I gave a lot of kudos to my mother. I think it's only fair to tell you some things about my family. First of all I think that my higher power had a plan for me before I was born. I believe that he looked at me and he said this little guy is going to have a rough go at life and I need to give him a good loving family. And he did. I have a big brother, two older sisters and a very loving mother and father. I was raised in this family since I was two weeks old. We traveled all over the united states and canada in a big yellow ford van. We lived in Juneau Alaska on the coast of the ocean. We had blueberries, huckleberries, salmon-berries and strawberries in our front yard. We could walk down to the water and walk, think, smell, listen, swim, fish and boat. We had a forest as our back yard, we made trails and explored them overgrown with bright green moss. We saw bears, seagulls, eagles and mosquitos. The road I grew up on was not paved and being in Juneau we had a lot of rain. The neighborhood kids would bang on our door when it got really rainy and we would go play in the culverts. We would return covered in mud from head to toe. My parents and my family love me. I am 36 years old now and there is still not a day that goes by when I am not struck with wonder at how lucky I am to have a family that emulates courage, honesty, compassion, love, beauty, understanding, adventure, health, moral fiber and a true appreciation of family values. I am blessed. It may sound like I am a bible thumper, but that is not all that true. I would have to say spiritual. You see, there are two different religious backgrounds that I was raised or actually exposed to. Never pressured, always told it was up to me to find a belief. Go ahead, if you'll listen I will go on and on about how great my siblings and parents are. I am a fortunate man, and should I ever marry and have children, I would like for them to be like my family. The same dynamic, the same beliefs. Even the people that are drawn into each of their lives are amazing. My sisters husband, her kids, my other sisters significant other and her daughter, my brother, his son and his wife, my dads new wife and my mothers recently deceased significant other. All amazing. So I guess my point is it does take a whole village to raise a child. You are the company you keep. You get to choose how you are spoken to. If you wake up one day and find yourself surrounded by beautiful people count your blessings. I think I just did. Have a wonderful day.