Family or Foe?

Buzz of the Day

They say you can't choose your family. Well I've chosen mine. At least half of them.

My mother died when I was in 3rd grade. At that point, I belonged to my father's side of the family, exclusively. Very rarely did I see my mom's side of the family. Very, very rarely.

That's another story. Right around that same time I started to meet friends that I still have to this day. I consider them family. They've been around when nobody else was. We've spent holidays, weekends, and every day in between together. We didn't have many people to give us advice and teach us right from wrong, so we counseled each other.

I've been truly blessed to have brothers from other mothers. As we've gotten older, our relationships have changed. Some have moved away. While others tend to stay away (you know, working and family stuff). Tupac has a line: "And if you need anything at all, I'll drop it all for ya'll when my homies call." I have so called family members that wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire. I'm not saying that all of my family is like that. I just don't agree with those sayings about blood being thicker than water and you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends. Truth is...My friends are my family and I couldn't get rid of them if I tried.

I am in the process of reaching out to my mom's side of the family. I'm trying to piece some things together and get some questions answered. As I move further away from being a child and move closer to having children of my own, I realize how much of my history that I don't know about. It also seems that nobody will reach out to me if I don't reach out. So I'll do what I have to do to fill in the blanks.

A message to my two readers: Sorry I've been gone so long. I hope to never leave for that long again.