It is a quiet night, in the final hours of my birthday, and
I am succumbing to a bout of introspection.
I spent the afternoon rekindling a waning relationship. It
was waning because I’d allowed it to sizzle out, like an unattended flame
without fuel.
I haven’t seen Mary Kaye for months, and have been remiss is
making it a priority to see her. She was my mom’s best friend since they were
small children, and her daughter and I grew up together as well. She is like a
second mom to me, and has been there for me through many difficult periods of
my life.
I love Mary Kaye very much, and to allow myself to be so
caught up in the mundane aspects of life that I’d failed to continually
cultivate this relationship is unacceptable.
I am a firm believer that your relatives are not always your
family, and your family is not always related to you by blood. My family
consists of both. Family is everything, and without relationships, humans are
sad, doleful creatures. I know I certainly am.
I spent this summer trying to live my life as much as
possible, with no regrets. But I need to make sure not to forget what makes
life worth living. Having people to share experiences with, whether it’s your
spouse or significant other, your friends, or your children, makes those experiences
richer, fuller.
So I want to reach out to my family tonight. If you are
reading this, I count you as family. I want to say thank you for being a part
of this journey. To say I truly look forward to so many more experiences with
you. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that time is trickling
away, slowly but surely. So I want to say I love you all, and wish so much for
your lives to be full to the brim, bursting with color and laughter, and I hope
to be a part of it.
I am comforted in the knowledge that I have said what I
needed to say to Mary Kaye today, and that I have said what I needed to say to
you.
Good night and sweet dreams.
