Family Part I

July 4th in Nebraska

I have a fairly large family, and I'm lucky enough to have spent my childhood around them all.  I swear there are just as many relatives living in Nebraska as do in various places around the world.  When I was little, we would celebrate holidays with all of my Nebraska family and people from out of state would come visit.  Their trips were exciting and even to this day when a relative comes to town I stop everything that I'm doing (aside from work) to spend as much time with them as possible.  

While the idea of relatives visiting is still very exciting to me, as I grow up I've learned how AMAZING it is to have family in practically every state.  Every road trip is an opportunity to visit with some people I haven't seen in years.  My vacations are planned around catching up with relatives.  I'll admit that I went through some teenage years when all I wanted to do was to spend time with friends, even on Christmas, but I now realize how important family really is.  There are all these people out there who will love you without questions and without a trial period.  

My greatest discovery as an almost-twenty-something is one that isn't so revolutionary in the greater sense, but changed the way I see the world.  Family is crazy, but you need them and love them.