Family

I’ve felt this way for years, but this week has really reenforced it: family does not need DNA. Let me explain.

We are still traveling and in the past 3 days we’ve been with three different parts of our family. We spent a few days in Utah with our youngest daughter and her family. It was great to see our granddaughter who is just a touch past her first birthday. What a joy to hear her laugh and babble, including something that I am taking for “Papa”!

When we left her house we went to visit people in Idaho that we just adore. I had visited as recently as last year, but Bev had not seen them for about 20 years. You’d never know. We just fit right back into each other’s hearts. We only had a day together, and it was not even close to enough time.

Now we are in Portland with more family who isn’t genetic. Being in the Paxton Pantry is like being at home. No one is a stranger here, but I like to think that I am a little bit more special than everyone else.

If I was small enough to think that a family required a biological link, I would be cheating myself. I am absolutely blessed to have family almost everywhere cause I allow people to be family everywhere I go. It can be so easy to get down in life, but my “family” allows me to…

—Rise Up!!