For Family

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.

~ William D. Tammeus

With Valentine's Day tomorrow, I set out to paint a few heart pieces.  I started with one big larger heart in the center and then began filling in.  At some point, I started feeling each of those hearts as myself and members of my nuclear family.  Probably haven't drawn or painted a picture of my family since I was a little girl drawing stick figures.  So there's a heart for my father, my mother, my sister and me.  And I began to sense the larger breathy heart blowing in as the ties that have bound us since my childhood.

I have been so blessed to be born in the family I am in.  I'm surrounded by wonderfully human people, so supportive, very wise, unconditionally loving, and my biggest cheerleaders.  I cannot express gratitude enough for how these three people, each in their own way,  have been the ones to remind me who I am and have helped pick me up when the world has pushed me down.  And as I age, I have enjoyed seeing how our parent/child and sisterly relationships have evolved. 

So this one is for you, Family!  Thank you for teaching me, in a world that leans towards criticism more than validation, how important is the goodness of attentiveness!

♥ ♥ ♥