Family

With the fact that my family is coming tomorrow to stay with us for a few days, I figured it would be a good idea to make a post about family. Ever since I learned that I would be moving to Mississippi, I started realizing how much my family means to me. When I was a kid, I couldn't even stay over at the neighbor's house without being super homesick, so my biggest fear about moving was that I would become too homesick and would have to move back home. So far, I get small bouts of homesickness, but nothing that talking to my mom on the phone or even just talking to Keegan about can't handle. Even though my parents and I have had our differences (like every normal teenager and their parents have had,) I love my parents more than anything and the thought of being hours away from them scared me. My dad is sick and is frequently (well, more frequently than we'd like,) in the hospital and the idea of being 9 hours away when "the day" comes scares me more than anything. I don't think I could live with myself if I was away from my dad's side the day he passes.

The last few months of living in Missouri also made me realize how much the few friends that I held onto throughout college are like family to me as well. I'm a total girl and I dream about my wedding day and one day having kids, and with that, I think about who I would want to play the important roles in some of the most important days in my life. Would I want my college roommate to be my maid of honor? Or do I want to introduce Keegan's college friends as "Uncle So-And-So" instead of just someone Daddy met in college? I think that I am in a small group that would be willing to have my college friends, as well as Keegan's still play big roles like this down the road. Even though throughout college, I had a rough time with certain friends and lost a large group of them when I broke up with an ex-boyfriend, I am so glad that I have the ones that I do now and that I have been able to stay in contact with them since graduation. 

I also follow a few blogs that deal with family. I have a few friends that have just had / are about to have children and it is fascinating to me to read about how their lives have changed with the new addition to their families. These blogs have also given me a lot of information that I will use when I one day have kids; its really helpful to see someone else go through it first hand before going through it yourself. I also follow a few blogs that are not as happy. Two of the blogs I follow are about moms who have lost their daughters to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and one about a father who lost both his wife and daughter in a car accident. These blogs really make me take a step back and think about how important both life and family are and how quickly they can be taken away. I don't know what I would do if I lost a child, especially one who seemed to be perfectly healthy. I also can't even fathom loosing my entire family at once and still be expected to pick myself up the next day and continue on. I read these blogs with admiration of these families' strength and courage to continue on each day and I hope that I am never in their shoes. If I am, I just hope that I can be as strong as they are and continue on.

One of my biggest dreams has always been to be a wife and a mommy some day. I hope (like really, really, really hope) that this will happen with Keegan (he hasn't proposed yet,) because he is everything I have ever wanted in a husband and father for my children. I feel like I am at a point in my life where I am ready to start building a family of my own and I can't wait for things to start happening for that to occur. I have also fallen in love with Keegan's family. This is the first time that I feel honestly taken in by a boyfriend's family and it makes me feel so good. I don't dread going to Keegan's parent's house and I'm super excited that they might also visit us later this month. Before it always felt like my ex-boyfriend's parents were nice to me to my face, but would talk behind my back. Keegan's family honestly seems to like me and care for me and that makes me feel beyond amazing and makes me believe that things between him and I will work out for the rest of my life.

Basically, this post was a way for me to think about how important family is to me; both my own family, my friends, and Keegan's family. I've been thinking a lot recently about how much I want to start my own family and reading my friend's blogs have made me realize how much this will make my life change, but I think that I'm at a point in my life where I'm ready for the challenge. Honestly, what does one have in life besides their friends and family? A goal of mine in life is to surround myself with friends and family that care about me and who I care about. I'm on the road to meeting that goal