It is an honor to host Guest Poster! We met each other in a Writer's Facebook group. She is a beautiful soul who is passionate about establishing + maintaining positive relationships! I thought this post beautifully illustrates the process so many of us overlook each day: when people move from strangers...to friends...to family...! FTHC Tribe Members - I would like to introduce you to Mari Corona of Living in Mommywood!
When I was younger, I used to think I was the only one with issues in my family. I used to visit other people's houses or friends from school + I always saw the family connection I wish I had. The siblings sharing a room + playing together, the sister who covered for the younger sister while she went out on a date. The big dinners, the huge holiday affairs + the parents who did everything together. I wanted to be a part of those things too. I felt I was missing out.
To this day I can never recall a time when my family was ever that close. I have four aunts + four uncles from my mother's side. I have about the same number from my father's side. Though I saw them in passing + on a few special occasions, there was never any real connection...real affection + love. No weekend sleepovers with cousins or summers at Grandma's house.
It wasn't until I moved away from home at the age of eighteen that began to see, hear + learn that what I saw in others was what they wanted me to see. But what was really going on was something totally different. Now that we were older than some of my friends, my acquaintances + I would discuss our upbringing + share our experiences. Turns out that they all had family issues. Everyone had something they were not talking about + at some point...everyone felt a disconnect.
One friend shared that her parents had only stayed together for the kids, another shared that his dad had other children outside of the marriage, another shared that the father was verbally abusive + another shared that there were addiction issues inside of the family. All of these revelations made each of us feel like we had been strangers all along, but now we were a family. A family not bound by blood but bound by commonalities + choice. A choice to be there for one another to support our journey through life.
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Family doesn't have to be what we have all grown accustomed to. The traditional picture we grew up seeing or the ones we are bound to by blood. Families can be created by individuals who we come across in life in the times we need someone to show us love the most.
I have built an amazing family. I have my biological daughter + my grandmother, but I also have several friends I've met along the way that are now brothers + sisters I had but never really felt connected to. I've built a family from strangers that want only the best for me + my child. They show us love + kindness daily with their words + actions. We have no control over the families we are born into, but we do have control over who we invest our time with once we become aware of our value.
Strangers can become family when we are open to diversity, acceptance + kindness. No two families are alike. Like a forest full of trees we all have something to offer. Have you stopped to look at just how beautiful all the different trees are? How the colors blend together + one shades the other...?
Strangers who became a family!
My name is Mari and my goal is to Empower, Motivate and Inspire. I started my blog, Living in Mommywood back in August 2013 in hopes of sharing a laid back approach to all things parenting related. My career path is in Real Estate. I have a beautiful daughter named Erica who is currently in college. My passions are reading, writing, Yoga, Meditation and laughing. I believe in stress free living and using any and all tools to achieve that goal. Live Love Laugh is my motto.
http://livingmommywood.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/lmommywood or http://plus.google.com/108378119040205798092