Blessed

Today I am feeling blessed.

I have good days and I will readily admit to the bad ones.  I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of.  Nobody has 365 good days a year and if they say they do, they are lying to themselves.  Today I am reflecting on the good.

Growing up surrounded by extended family, I could never have imagined living anywhere other than the city I was born and raised in.  I never fathomed living in a town without a giant support system made up of both sides of my family.  But, as typically happens, the universe had other plans for me.

We found ourselves living in a town where we knew no one and were two and a half hours from the nearest family.  This felt like it was so far but now with some perspective I have realized it's really not that bad.  When you don't have that support system you need, the only thing you can do is build your own.  You create a family, and that is what we did.  There we found our closest friends and even though we miss them every day, some more than others, when we are together it's as if no time has passed.

Then after building our lives there we were faced with moving on again.  It's terrifying leaving a place you've grown so attached to.  The feeling reminds me of closing my eyes and stepping off of the high dive at the pool; a gut wrenching free-fall.  So almost three and a half years ago we started building a life where we currently live.  It is a wonderful town, and as we've discovered there are amazing things to find in most places.

As much as we love living here, the location is not my favorite part.  My favorite part about living here is the new family we've built.  Now this is not saying we are replacing our biological family or our new family from our previous town (J.N. we are bound for life), but since my oldest has started school, I've met and become friends with some of the most amazing women.  We are sisters; sisters in the trials of motherhood, and the struggles of daily life.  Our experiences have bound us together.  I know I can call on any of them in a time of need and they are always there to help, and I for them.  

A sudden lack of childcare after my twins were born and my old friend J.S. dropped everything, including work, to take my kids.  An emergency appendectomy on a Sunday night last summer and there was J.C. volunteering to take my older two in addition to her four at home!  Unexplained medical issues and there was M.P. offering me all the support she had even as she struggled with her own!  The unexpected and very much appreciated offer of C.H. to take my oldest to school every day so I didn't have to load up all my kids.  My cousin and his wife moved here not too long ago and have saved us with childcare numerous times since.  These experiences have bound us together.

Today I am blessed.  I am blessed with the support system we have built and the family we have created here.