I Love My Tribe

We aren’t your average family.  And I love it. It works for us.  People comment all the time, in awe that we all get a long so well….  Jerritt and I have been together almost 5 years.  We own a home that we love.  We have the kids with us half of each week, and every other weekend.  We have 3 dogs and 2 cats.  We are crazy busy with sports, school, work, volunteering…. but we try as often as we can to spend time as a family.

Fourteen years ago – today, I married one of my best friends.  I really did.  About 6 years ago, we separated and eventually divorced – but we are still the best of friends.  We are still family.  And even if the marriage didn’t work – we grew up together, we are raising our boys as a team, and have never lost sight of being a family.

In addition to having Jerritt & Rich by my side, raising these pre-teen monsters we call our boys – we have my mom, my sister, my nephew and my brother – not to mention Rich’s girlfriend Kim and her son…. All of us come together to celebrate holidays, to get the kids to and from sports, school, scouts, band, special events. We are their cheering section.  We are their coaches. We are their guidance counselors.  We discuss rewards, discipline & punishment – we make sure we are all on the same page.  We talk about all the big stuff.  We laugh about all the embarrassing and awkward stuff that comes with raising 10 year old boys.  This is my village, my tribe – I couldn’t be the mom that I am, without them.

Like any true family, we drive each other crazy.  We annoy each other.  We get sick of each other.  But…. we laugh (a lot).  We know that no matter what – we will be there to support each other.  We respect each other. We do family dinners.  We do game nights.  We go on adventures.  We love each other loud and proud.   We have zero cares how the rest of the world views our very functional, perfectly imperfect family.

It doesn’t matter if people think we are strange.  I didn’t plan to get married and divorced, and to have this blended family – but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.  Our boys sure are loved. They are lucky to have so many people who are invested in their happiness and growth.

Can I also point out, that we have some amazing, close family friends that are a huge part of what makes life so good….  Seriously, the “tribe” is not complete without them.

Don’t let anyone tell you what your family should look like.  You get to choose your tribe, and they should make your burdens less, and your joy more.  When the world is falling down around you, make sure you have the right folks surrounding you to help build you back up.