Family reunions are always a roll of the dice. I never know when I am going to have a good time or when I am going to regret going. i think one of my problems is that I did not grow up in an ideal family. I did not have June Cleaver for a mother but I had a mother who could out cook Betty Crocker, kept me clothed and who gave me enough motivation to get out of the house that I got a college degree and moved away from home. My parents also forced me to go to church where some of my greatest childhood memories were formed.

I don’t know if this is the reason why I connect on a deeper level with some of my patients or not. I usually walk in to a patient’s home as a nurse when I admit them. By the time I walk out I am a friend of the family. Sometimes the families I visit really take to me. This year I was in a patient’s bedroom when her brother-in-law walked past and said, “We filed papers.” I looked up in surprise thinking I didn’t know what I had done wrong because the patient’s legs had healed up under my care. Then he went on and said, “We filed papers to legally adopt you. I hope you don’t mind.” I busted out in laughter when I heard that. I do love all of my patients and even more so those who want to adopt me.

I also have other families that I feel adopted by. One is my Bible study group. Last week I got the privilege of eating Thanksgiving dinner with a group that I used to attend Bible study with, but I haven’t seen them for quite some time. It happens that my BSF group meets on the same night. The BSF group is amazing but they don’t have the family feel like my initial Bible study group had so any time I can dip back in for some family love I do. This past Sunday was one of those days. It was so good to see my sisters and my brothers in Christ.

I have enough friends to know that an “ideal’ family is hard to come by in this present age. My parents are getting old and the times that I spend with them are cherished. I know when they are gone I will miss them terribly. They were not perfect but they tried their hardest. I think that they were imperfect enough that I connect with others on a deeper level because I may still be searching for the ideal family. I believe that when I am in the midst of my Christian brothers and Sisters I feel as if I am almost there.