G, M, W, D, and B...some K thrown in for good measure.

I know you all might be wondering why I don’t talk as much about G, M, W, D, and B as much as I talk about K. The reason is that G and M moved back to California three years ago and obviously took their three kids with them. We live on the other side of the country. Sadly, I never get to see them. When they moved, the youngest was just about to turn 1. She just turned 3 on the 19th. Her brothers are older and they are all just getting so big without our ever seeing them. We get pictures right after their birthdays (that’s another story in itself which has hurt me over the years).

Luckily, we live only 25 minutes from K, so we get to see him every weekend and get to be a part of his life. He loves playing with us. He copies every thing we say or do. It’s so cute. I would love to have this same relationship with my brother’s children, but sadly, I do not see that happening any time soon. What’s so sad about this is that they moved away from all their family members. Her family lives in Wisconsin and Missouri while my parents now live in Indiana. At least her brothers and their wives are able to have children, so their mom gets to see some of her grandchildren, but my parents don’t have that. These are the only grandchildren my parents will have unless H and I adopt (which we’ve considered – that’s another post as well).

Anyway, so that’s the reason that I don’t talk about G, M, W, D, and B as much. I don’t know them as well. It’s not that I don’t want to know them as well. I would love to know them as well. Knowing K as well as we do shows me just how much we have missed out on the lives of our niece and other nephews. Those are years we will never get back and they do not know us either. To me, that is just sad.

I am big on family. I’m finding that I am much bigger on family than anyone else in my family even though they talk the talk, they don’t walk the walk. They say family means a lot to them, but they don’t want to spend time with family unless it’s around the TV and you only talk during commercials. No wonder I’m a TV-a-holic. That’s all I’ve known my whole life.

Seeing the way H and his family do things has shown me that my family isn’t about family. When it comes to K, he is the center of attention as well as other family members. It doesn’t matter if the show on TV goes unwatched. The most important thing is spending time with the people around you. I have learned so much from this family and I absolutely love them to death. They have wrapped their arms around me and have made me a part of this family without question and without reservation. They have become “my” family and those that mean the most to me.

My folks returned from Hawaii today. They tried to talk me into coming to their house for Christmas. Christmas is what we do with K. He is really into it this year. He called us two weeks ago and told us to “bring Kissmas”. He’s already been under the tree, opening gifts, and playing with his toys. When we were there last weekend, I asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He said he wanted a truck (such a shock) so I asked him what color. He said red (thought he was gonna say yellow). I went to Target today and found emergency vehicles for him and a red pillow tractor (from CARS) with real wheels. I think he’ll love it. I can’t wait to see the look on his face Christmas morning. We’re not putting the gifts from us under the tree until Christmas Eve. We’re his Santa Claus. I don’t even think he knows who Santa is. He isn’t interested in men in suits dressed up as Easter Bunnies or Santa Claus or anything else. He doesn’t even like to dress up for Halloween. He’s a boy of his own and follows his own heart. I love that about him. I so hope my other nephews and my niece find their own voice in this world.