As If There Was Any Doubt...

Family is a pretty special thing for me. Being a TCK, it's roughly synonymous with "home" and comprises a collection of The Most Important People In The World for me. We drive each other to medical appointments, up the wall, crazy, and in circles; talk to each other, at each other, about each other to each other; keep secrets and break secrets and divulge secrets and guess secrets; and generally alternate at 30-second intervals between wondering about our own sanity and each other's... Amazingly, we actually like each other, respect each other, and enjoy each other's company -- and when the chips are down, we've got each other's backs, no questions asked, no score kept.

We all feel the same way, and -- by design, by accident, by osmosis -- are passing those feelings on to the Pipsqueak. We'd long ago tossed away any concerns about bonding issues, and Miri repeatedly has shown she cares about Mommy, Grandma & Grandpa, and Uncle Brian more than pretty much anyone else, but we didn't know how solid a definition of "family" she had developed.

Working my crazy hours, I rarely share dinners with my folks, AJ and the Pipsqueak during the week -- so Mom fills me in on things I missed that she knows I'd like to (or need to) know about. The latest story was from dinner on Tuesday night, and it shows my niece has as solid a definition of "family" as her uncle does.

The Pipsqueak had a pretty full day, complete with daycare and time at the gym, topped off with Grandma & Grandpa staying for dinner when Mommy got home. As usual, she was ready to return to play a bit earlier than any of her grownups, so she began marching around the table counting chairs out loud as she pointed to each person in turn.

"One... two... three... four..."

A pause.

"Grandma and Grandpa are my family. Mommy is my family."

Another pause, then pointing to an empty chair:

"Five. And Uncle Brian is my family, too! This is my family!"

And some folks at work this evening wondered why I kept smiling.