This is my grandmother and her new husband, with all of my grandmother's children. They haven't been all together in over a decade. My mother and I hadn't met one of my dad's sisters until the day this picture was taken.
It is extraordinary to me how families work. As I have grown, met other people, and experienced my own family, I have realized how very messy family is. It is difficult to grow up with and spend life with the same few people. There are countless struggles, tensions, and difficulties. Let's face it: we fight with our families more than anyone else. I think the reason we fight with them is the same thing that makes families so wonderful: we are free to be ourselves, to be completely known (they usually know us better than anyone else anyway), and to be completely honest. This freedom comes from knowing that we are family, tied by something much greater than friendship. It is inescapable, and difficult to break.
I think this picture of my grandmother and her children is beautiful. It is forgiveness and grace and love. They don't all speak to each other regularly (or much at all), and they do not know each other well. But they are family, and so they love anyway. They accept and they forgive.
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