“Losing
family obliges us to find our family…The only thing left to say will be ‘I wish
I had seen this’ or ‘I wish I had done that’… ” The word family, in today’s
generation, means so much more than we think. No longer does it mean simply
father, mother, sibling, etc. It now ties the terms foster parent, friend,
classmate, teacher, neighbor, fans, etc. under the umbrella. We no longer live
in a world where “normal” makes sense. There isn’t a “normal” way of being
anymore. The phrase has evolved into so many different meanings now that it is
hard to tell them apart anymore.
When we tie in these different
meanings of “family,” we strive to find it anywhere in our lives. It is a sense
of belonging and allows us to be a part of something, a group, a team, a unit
of love, liking, or understanding that we may not get elsewhere. We lose it and
the situation shakes our world until we are able to grab on again to possibly
another family. We become lost and ever searching for the companionship of
others that are most like us. Finding our family is like finding ourselves. We
find our best partners, our greatest supporters, and our finest moments. Our
family is the biggest reflection of who we are as individuals. They are the
mirrors we often avoid yet strive to always look into.
When we start regretting things in
our past or even in our present, we often find the words, “What if…?” most
comforting. There is always something else we could have done or said to ease
our minds and our hearts. In these situations we, more often than not, shut
people out or push them away just so we can bottle our regrets within ourselves
and not allow anyone else to see the reflection we give to ourselves. Real
family is always there to give us the true reflection that we need.
Death, new beginnings, forgotten
pasts, change, new futures can all be unfortunate times when we lose our
family. But in these losses, we then struggle and endeavor to find them again
in the most unknown locations. No matter whom they may be. A friendly neighbor
who clips flowers for us, a teacher that becomes a mentor, a foster parent that
gives us hope for a brighter future, a fellow fan that greets us at every game
with a smile, a friend that lends a shoulder or a hand when we need it most. We
find them yesterday, today, and tomorrow. For it is when we find our family
that we find ourselves.
