Forty-two Ways in Forty Two Days- More Family.

When you get married, if you are lucky, you gain a second family. I know that a lot of folks complain about their in-laws and some have some really BAD situations but I didn't have that problem.

Jim's parents have always been supportive- even when we got married so very young. They never treated me like anything other than a real daughter- not an "in-law". Heck, Jim's mom once told us that if anything happened and we split- she was keeping me instead of Jim.

When we made the decision to pursue a move out this way- I was afraid they would not be pleased- but they were really, really behind us. We had been with them for 20 years and they understood the need to be near my parents now that they are getting older. Jim has 3 siblings living with and near them so we all knew that there would be someone to care for them. Little did we know how quickly that would be put to the test. When Jim's mom got sick last year, we were so thankful that the kids all stepped in and took such good care of her. We were thankful that they tried to keep us in the loop. We are also very grateful that we both got the opportunity to go back and see her while she was still alive and knew us. Mom passed away in April and we both really still miss her. We went back for the funeral and it was not a good thing. True colors come out in times like that and when we left- we were glad to come back home. I am not going to get into all of that mess in this blog because this is about gratitude and that is an area where I am still working on forgiveness so I will leave it at that. Since then, contact with Dad has been minimal. He is having a really tough time without Mom so I am not taking it personally. I just hope and pray that he is taking care of himself. I really feel the best thing for him would be to consider assisted living but I don't think that will come for a while.
I just don't think he is ready to take that step. But I email him and send cards and let him know that we love him and that is all that I can do.

I am also very thankful for Jim's sister Courtney, his brother Andrew and Drew's wife Jessica. They are our continued connection to Jim's family. We hear from them fairly often via Facebook and texts. We are able to see their children in those mediums and enjoy them growing up. We have been "family" since they were children so it is an easy relationship between us. I love them as if they were blood related and I hope they realize that. I would do anything I could to help them if they needed me. I can only hope that we continue on over the rest of our lives.

I miss them all. I am grateful that I have them in my life because they make a difference whether they realize it or not. I need to let them know, I just don't know how I will do that yet.