This one is dedicated to my amazing family.
Not everyone can say this with confidence, but I can honestly say I have been blessed with one of the most amazing families in the world. This isn't just about my brother, mom, and dad, but about my WHOLE family.
Two things prompted me to write this one: A) my little cousin graffitied my car this week, and B) my mom totally made my favorite dinner in the world tonight. Both things, although little, really made me realize how much my family means to me.
First off, I am a daddy's girl. I have been my whole entire life. Him and I are so alike in so many different ways. We're both sarcastic and hilarious, have terrible attitudes, we love to rip it up in the gym, we have the same mannerisms, and we're both pretty slobby. I enjoy nothing more than being able to sit with my father and have a nice cold beer, and just b.s. with him. We never really have super in-depth conversations about life, but every time we speak, we make eachother laugh. He never fails to tell me how proud of me he is, and never fails to support my dreams. We have this new found connection in weight lifting now that I have begun to take it seriously. My father is an avid weightlifter- he loves going to competitions to watch, and always reads up on the newest strength and conditioning articles. He's very wise and educated, and is always ready to lend a helping hand in the gym. I'll never forget the look of utter pride he had on his face when I was loading up my squat bar. I had 165 pounds on it (I wasnt finished racking) and he asked "What are you gonna do with that?" I said "Im gonna put more weight on, duh." :)
My mom and I used to have a pretty rough relationship. I would say this is mostly due to the fact that I was a teenage girl and she was my mother. But during college, after I moved away, I realized that I had been taking her for granted. I began to become very close to her not only as a parent, but as a friend. I have been able to open up to her about personal stuff more recently. I was never one to share my feelings with her because I know she worries about me a lot. But that changed once I started therapy. I think she began to realize that I'm not as hard assed as I act. Dont get me wrong, her and I do tend to go at it every once in a while, but we always talk it out. Her and I have a pretty damn good connection nowadays that most girls dont have with their mother. We shop together often, we go out to lunch together when we can, we text eachother pretty much all day every day...Not to mention she's a badass in the gym just like my dad. Her and I always play wrestle, and she always beats me. I hate to admit it.
Then there's the big bro bro. Growing up with a big brother really was hard. Probably more so on him than it was on me. I always aspired to be like him (I was a really big tomboy growing up). I always wanted to hang out with him and his friends and do guy stuff- you know, watch scary movies, play video games, play with action figures (I did not like barbies...barf). When he moved away to go to college I would say our relationship improved. I missed him a ton, and I was lonely at home often (him and I share the upstairs). I took after him and went to University of Toledo as well to become an Athletic Trainer. We hung out semi often for the year we both were in Toledo. Now that we're both home again and still both in school (he's getting his doctorate in PT and I'm getting my Masters in Ex. Science), we live together again. Time's can be tough, we argue with eachother semi often, but at the end of the day, he's my big brother and I love him. Thursday nights are probably my favorite time of the week- him and I usually spend the evening watching our favorite TV shows, Community, Parks and Rec, and The Office. It's always awesome to share a couple laughs with him. We always have funny crap to talk about, which is great when I'm feeling down. I swear he might be one of the few people on this earth that can make me laugh my ass off on a shitty day.
My mom makes us homemade dinners pretty much every night of the week, and a nice big breakfast on Sunday mornings. I spend as much time with the 3 of them as possible. My mom, dad, and I have out little family nights on Wednesdays to watch Modern Family. It's something little, but its something that we share, and I wouldnt give it up for the world. And another thing I love is when my mom or dad throw their ipod on the speakers and we turn off the tv and just jam together. We dance a little, we sing together...again, it's the little moments like that that really make me smile.
My Gramma Maher lives right across the street from me, which is an absolute blessing. I cant even describe what an amazing woman she is. I mean, shes 81 and she still works out. She's in better shape than most of her grandkids, and I truly believe that she is the glue that holds this family together. She jumps to do anything and everything for us all, and never asks for anything in return. The least we can do is shovel her driveway or take in/out her garbage, but she doesnt even like when we do that for her! Most of my friends do know her, and know what an amazing person she is. She raised 5 kids pretty much single handedly after my Grampa Maher passed away at the age of 49. She never remarried, and never needed help. That's a real woman for ya.
Then there's the rest of my moms side- the Irish in me. This side of the family is extremely close. My aunts and uncles all live around the same area, and I am very close with all of my cousins. I actually work with my oldest cousin at the PT clinic, and my youngest cousin is one of my best friends. There's the boys- Phil, Matt, Phil, Joe, John, and Andy, Joe, Tony, and Tim...and the girls- Lauren, Lindz, me, and Kree. I'm telling you when we all get together for holidays, it is the best time of my life over and over again. From the jokes and the catching up and the old stories to the Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble games...It never ever gets old. Out of all of the cousins, I spend most of my time with Kree. She does my hair every Friday, we catch up and complain and she washes or dyes or cuts my hair, we laugh and joke and make fun of people. I look forward to Fridays every week. And then this one time, her and her best friend decided to write funny crap all over my car this week, and I almost peed my pants. My aunts and uncles are all amazingly awesome as well. I can't even describe it...like I was given the coolest family in the world. I LOVVVEEEE bringing my friends to family get togethers. Its the best way to show them all off :)
Then there's my dad's side of the family- The Italian side. We arent as close as my mom's side, but we're pretty close none the less. Let's start off with my Gramma Camp. She lived in my house until she passed away when I was about 10 years old. Now THATS a woman. She never let my mom clean, cook, do laundry, etc. Her and I were so extremely close. Her and I shopped on QVC together, watched the food channel together (especially Emeril), prayed together, she taught me how to cook...the right way- everything from scratch. The cousins and I always called her Grambo- that's exactly who she was- Gramma Rambo. If you crossed her, that was it for you. Ive heard so many stories of her flipping the dinner table on her sons if they made her mad, and the best story is of my cousins walking in on Gram holding up a couch with one arm, and vaccuuming under it with her other arm. That's right, she was a total BA! So then there's my dad and his 3 brothers. One lives in Cali and I havent seen him since high school, but we do keep in touch. And there's the cousins- I am the youngest next to my bro, we have Timmy, Greg, and Annie, Michael John, Pat, Michelle, Terry and Brian. Let me tell you...we have this side of the family over for Christmas Eve every year, and we call it the Airing of Grievances. The girls gossip, and the men complain. It's loud and obnoxious and crazy and so much fun.
So yeah. This is my family. Maybe it's time for you to reflect upon your family. Think about the amazing moments you've all shared- the dumb stuff, the sad stuff, the funny stuff, the happy stuff. Every little moment spent with your family should be the most precious moments of your life. In the end, all you have is your family. Those are the people who will ALWAYS catch you when you fall. Not everyone is lucky enough to have even one family member. So be thankful for them. Dont take them for granted. You only have a short time with them on this earth. Make it count.
<3
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