Family

On our way to ID we spent the night with Kelsey.   On Kelsey's fridge there is a picture of Kelsey's dad holding her when she was about three and my sister is in the background.  One day over the summer Kelsey and I were talking about that very picture and she asked me if I was bugged that I had to spend so much time with her family (not in those exact words).  When she asked I think that I was having an emotional day, or week or maybe month and I couldn't really answer the question without probably having  a good cry, so the answer was just a simple no I wasn't bothered.  But the answer was really not that simple and I am not sure that it will be easy to give even now.  The true answer is that when Kelsey's mom died it was one of the saddest days of my life.  I was only 13 at the time but I really loved her mom and I was heartbroken and confused about why such a wonderful person with five beautiful children needed to go.  So when Kelsey's Dad asked my mom if she could quit her job and help him with his kids, I felt a little comfort.  I am not saying that this made it better for her family because nothing could replace their mother, but it did help me to feel a bit better. I felt like we kind of just became one big family .   We did the things that families do, besides the day to day stuff we celebrated birthdays, holidays and went on trips.  So was I bothered by it, no (okay maybe once when cousin Brady shortsheeted me and crushed crackers in my bed in retaliation for throwing him in the pool earlier that day.  But even then only for a millisecond.) I was grateful because I got to have 3 extra sisters and 2 brothers that I still claim as family.