Not that my job isn't important. I mean I do appreciate that it pays the bills but I know that for the past several weeks it has been consuming me. We're still in audit mode at work and for the next two weeks stress level with be at Defcon 4 but I realize that part of the art of leveling that off is to not take for granted what really matters. What really mattes are almost always not job related things.
Last night, I was at dinner at my sister Patsy's house. Virtually all of my siblings have had some health crisis or other going on in the last few months. Lately, all of their conversations are about what medications their taking and in what doses and what they are all for and their latest visit to the docs and what they said. Since I'm healthy and can't really contribute to that line of talk I just sat back, observed and listened. I was watching this whole thing - how animated they became when talking, seeing their body language - and realized this was just another form of something we all have done all our lives. It was "one upsmanship". Haha! My brother would say something like "I have to take Coumidin three times each day until my next set of tests" and one of my sister's would say "Well, I have to take it four times a day for the rest of my life" and another one would chime in with "Well, I have to take that PLUS blood pressure meds". It was so comical I started to laugh. My mother, who is 90 years old and on some meds of her own, just sat there quietly eating her dinner and then after a time finally said "Will you all shut up? When you get old this is what you get. Get over it!" I almost did a spit take with my linguine!
I realized though as I was watching and listening to all of them how much I love them all. They are truly 5 unique personalities. Verda aka Kelly, the oldest, is crotchety and grumpy and puts on airs but she is also fun and surprises me sometimes with her spontaneity. Bryant aka Butch is a character. He is super shy but once you know him he will crack you up! He was a world of unusual characters living in his head and he lets them out once in a while and practically makes me pee my pants laughing. Kathleen aka Kathy, third oldest, just had surgery to repair her heart, showed up to dinner in her pajama's and slippers, proudly showed off her huge scar and staples. She talks to herself all the time - keeping a running commentary under everything else that's going on. But she's also a dedicated and highly competent nurse. She will let you know that by sparkling her sentences with medical terms! Therese aka Terry, is the former bad girl who now has the heart of an angel. She'll give you the shirt off her back and always be there to listen when you need to talk. Her quirk is that since she's a hair stylist she often gets her "facts" on some current event from a "friend of one of the ladies" who's hair she does on a weekly basis. And she'll argue those facts to the death! Patrice aka Patsy, is seven years older than me. We had a rocky start to our relationship. She was the baby of the family for seven years and then, well, cute little me came along and rocked her world! Haha! Patsy has dedicated her life to being Kenosha's version of Martha Stewart. Her home is meticulous. Her food, although sometimes strange, comes right out of the pages of Gourmet Today. She is the embodiment of the word conservative but get a couple of glasses of wine in her and she is a hoot!
These are some of the people that are important to me. My family. And then there's my personal family that stretches beyond what I was given at birth.
There's Alexander aka Alex, who's thoughtful, caring, funny, smart, analytical, talented, loving, sexy and always there for me. I love him. Period. He's the most important person in my family.
There's Jessica aka Jessy, Alex's sister and all of her family. They have accepted me wholeheartedly and always make me feel welcomed.
There's Jan aka Alex's father and his mother Gunilla, and Cici, Jesper, Sarah, Jonas and all of his other siblings. Some of them I haven't met yet (Klas)but the ones I have have also accepted me. I can't wait to get to know them better.
These people, this time, this is what is important. This is what I hold dear and always will. I'm going to a wedding today and, honestly, yesterday I was thinking of ways to get out of it. But today, I'm going. I'm going to celebrate, let loose and have fun. Because at the end of day, that is what's important. I can't let myself forget that!
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