Days of healing, Days of Joy.............................................Nov. 26th

"My family history begins with me" .................................. Plutarch

Holidays nearly always conjure up in our minds, and in the universal eyes, the myth of the media family. We are flooded with pictures of family reunions, warm family gatherings, people on the way home for the holidays.

Perhaps we have no such home. Perhaps we never did. It may well be that all the attention paid to home and family at this time of the year serves to cause us much pain rather than joy.

Let us never forget that families and homes come in all manners and forms. Some of the best families are not biological. They are not the environment of love that was given us but those that we chose. We may find that the reality of family and home loving is indeed possible if we are willing to choose our family. It may be necessary to deliberately choose to surround ourselves with those who love and care for us. They are there. As many people are looking for family as we are. And with them we can experience warmth and acceptance.
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As I develop my relationship skills, a family of loving hearts creates itself around me.

Holidays are indeed difficult. But for years, my late husband and I used to put on a "spread" for AA people who had no family on Christmas -- and on Christmas Eve, they'd all come over and eat dinner and spend the evening with us. We had a houseful, but it was wonderful to have our "family" with us. Now with Dave gone, and being much more disabled I'm unable to do that anymore.

As the reading says, many times we have to surround ourselves with people who REALLY care for us, and it may just not be family. Sometimes our family of origin is not there or is even toxic, so we must choose our family and that's even better! Thanks for letting me share. Hugs, Lee