Can I just say that I love my family? Nobody has done anything special and I didn't just come back from an awesome vacation with them, just being back in Arizona has made me realize how much I missed them and how badly I was underselling them.
I live with my aunt now. She was always an eccentric lady, but she was family so I never worried about it. But being in the same house as her these last two months has amazed me. She's usually happy-go-lucky, but there are still days when she comes home from work and she needs a big hug. I always have someone on hand to have girl talk with, and because she's been through so much, she doesn't judge me. We went to Applebees for dinner tonight, and she told me about her frustrations with her boyfriend. I've known her my whole life, but now I'm starting to get to know her. It's an amazing feeling.
My grandmother also lives fairly close by and I usually see her about once a week now. I help out around her house with cleaning and such and we bond. Another situation of I've known her my whole life, but now i'm starting actually know her. Every time we're together, she gives me a new piece of advice or something funny to pass onto my friends. There's a lot of attitude and sass packed into that little old lady, and I'm sad that it took me forever to see that my grandmother is this amazing.
My cousin is another person that was right in front of me my whole life. While we were closer then I was to my aunt and grandmother, our friendship didn't start blooming until I went to Iowa, when we started writing postcards to each other, not that that really lasted long. This last January though, when I decided to move back to Arizona, we started getting closer than before. I just went up to Flagstaff last weekend to celebrate her 20th birthday with her, and had an amazing time. I knew she was coming back for the summer the same week but you only have your 20th birthday once!
I've been getting along with my dad better. Hanging out over at his house or with his girlfriend and her daughter isn't as awkward as I imagined it would be. We have fun, and our relationship definitely isn't as strained as it used to be. I wish I could tell my sister that it gets better, but she won't believe me until she's older and goes through it herself. I remember what it was like to be a teenager.
And the whole thing that brought this on: My mother. After the divorce, I started saying the verse from "Love You Forever" to my mom. When I moved to Iowa, she bought me a copy and wrote a personal inscription inside the cover. It made me cry then, it makes me cry now.
All these people have been here my whole life (Except Auntie Lem since she's almost a year younger than me...) and I took them for granted. I hope to show them more appreciation as the days, months, and years go by.
over and out.
