Familial

     When my daughter was born, she had the honorable distinction of being the first grandchild, at least on my side of the family. My mother was head over heels in love...she'd waited years to become a grandmother. As she told my father after he commented on her non-stop holding, fussing, feeding, and diapering of her granddaughter: "She's blood, you're not."
     It took me a long time, well into adulthood, for me to realize that while family is important, family doesn't always been blood relations. My mom and dad have both passed away, my brothers live in other cities, and in a few years, my daughter will be in college. I've had to establish my own little family; people who don't share my bloodlines, but are in many ways closer to me than some on my actual family tree.
     Let me tell you about my "sister." I met her more than twenty years ago when I started a new job, hundreds of miles from my hometown. M was the first person in the office to come in and say hello. At the time, I had no idea the impact she would make on my life.
     Petite and flashy, with a flamboyant personality, M is the woman you can't help but notice. I'm "Ethel" and she's "Lucy." She loves high-heeled, fancy pumps while I favor comfort over style. Over the course of our twenty-some year friendship, my taste in clothing has driven her a tad bit crazy. One pair of pants in particular, black corduroy with little cherries on them, were a favorite target of hers.
     "Where did you get those pants," she'd say. "You look like a homeless lady."
     "I like them, "I'd counter. "They're extremely comfy."
     "They have an elastic waistband...they're pathetic."
     I finally did give those pants to charity, and some authentic homeless lady is probably enjoying them immensely.
     But the bottom line is this: M is the one who allows me to engage in these sisterly battles, something I never had the chance to experience growing up.
     We've watched our children grow up together, we've laughed and cried together, and we've had our share of disagreements. But the bottom line, no matter what, we know we are absolutely, one hundred percent, there for each other.
     Just like family.