One might notice, as they drive towards Smut Eye Grocery, a few big, strong trees arching over the road. One might even notice how shady they make the spot underneath and how absolutely breathtaking the contrast of lively green on the clearest blue sky can be on a mid summer day. These trees have been in the same spot for as long as I can remember. There are a few that were lost in this storm or that, but three or so still stand strong.
A few months ago, my family planned a surprise 60Th birthday party for my mother. The party was fairly simple and was really the idea of our family's good friend, Aunt Debbie. When making plans, we went through each area fairly easily. We would have BBQ to eat. People's presence would be the presents. The guest list? This was SIMPLE! The list would be my parents' closest and, some of them, oldest friends. As we made the list, I was once again reminded of how LARGE my family tree is. I mean, if you live in Bullock County, there is a 95% chance that I am related to you. But what stuck out wasn't the number of blood relations. It was the chosen relations that made up the majority of the list. The list read something like this:
Aunt Debbie
Uncle Wiley
Uncle Mike
Aunt Maryanne
Marie
Henry
Uncle Robbins
Aunt Nell
Aunt Charlotte
Aunt Flossie
You get the picture? It's a pretty normal picture until you realize, I have no blood related aunts or uncles. All the aunts and uncles listed (except my great aunt) are "chosen relations". What a great network of family to have? All of these people are those who invested in my life and the life of my family, since before I was around.
You may wonder, how does someone come to call a non-related person aunt or uncle? Well, one couple lived across the road from us for years...I grew up riding their bulldog for fun! One couple was my mom's lifelong best friend and one of my dad's best hunting buddies. Another is actually a distant cousin and one of my best friend's parents. Aunt Charlotte lived with my grandparents as a young adult and ended up taking tons of pictures of my brother and me as we grew older. She was with my family as we lost me grandmother to cancer at age 52 and she still helps preserve her memory for us.
I would not trade this close knit, yet now separated, group of people for anything. They are, to me, family. And they are, to my parents', family. We love our biological families, but love the benefit of having these chosen relations too! Our family tree is bigger, stronger, and definitely more beautiful because of them. What a lively bunch of leaves I have on that branch of my tree!
