From Tracie: Family Feelings

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Family Feelings

Family is a tough topic for me. Not just the family I am no longer a part of, but also the family members with whom I still have relationships. Living in Orlando for the past few years, we have been far away from all of our family.

I call my mom every weekend, and as we talk about her week and all the family news, I struggle with my hurts. It is still strange to not have family Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations, and I feel the sadness when I see my family planning their events.

I am happy for them, but I am jealous, too. It is something I am working on.

At this point, I would share pictures of my family, but I don't share pictures of other people's children on my blog without their permission. Instead, you are going to get one of my favorite pictures of Katarina and me, taken two years ago at the last family gathering we were able to attend in Arizona.

Katarina and Tracie

I know family is not perfect, and even living in the same town does not guarantee that a lot of time will be spent together. But I still long for close relationships with my family, and I wish Katarina could grow up surrounded by her extended family and a lot of love. Right now, she gets the "a lot of love" part, maybe one day there will be more time with the rest of her family.

Do you have far-away family you miss?

*Apparently NaBloPoMo makes me write about all the feelings.

19 comments:

  1. Came over to visit from BlogHer. My kids have grown up the same way- my husband's job moved us all over the country. Like everything else, it has had its good an bad parts- when we get together its more like a "honeymoon" than for the other family members (who all live close) We appreciate the time together more, and make our "reunions" more of an event. BUT it is also lonely being so far away, and not getting to take part in the everyday stuff- like my nephew's basketball games, or random birthdays. My kids also suffer from chronic illness, so doing that alone hasn't been easy either. www.livingwithjuvenilearthritis.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it is those random get togethers that I hate missing the most. All the little moments. It is really tough to deal with chronic illness without the support of family near by to help.

      Delete
  2. I grew up far away from my extended family, and now that I moved back to America as an adult, my parents still live overseas and my husband's parents live an 18 hour drive away from us--so we have definitely experienced the strange situation that is living far away from family members you love. I miss that we don't get to get together often, but I'm thankful for the lives we're blessed to have!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are definitely blessings to living where we are, too. And I have found special friends who I wouldn't have met if we lived near family. It is a trade-off in a lot of ways. I'm glad you are able to see the blessings in your life, even in the midst of wishing for more time with your family.

      Delete
  3. Although we don't currently live too far from my family (same state, within a couple hours to anyone), I long for closer relationships. I'm glad to have that type of close relationship with other people whom I consider my family. Those are the people I miss most when I'm away or unable to be in frequent contact with.

    Once I dreaded the holiday season. Now, not so much. I know I have a place with those other people to help balance out time with my family or experience the closeness that is family. I'm also grateful for the relationships I'm developing with Hun's family :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some of my closest relationships are with the family of my heart - they aren't related to me by blood, but they will forever be family. I'm glad you have been able to find some of those people in your own life as well.

      Delete
  4. I think it is more of a yearning than jealousy. That is a beautiful picture of the two of you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yearning might be a better word. But I think there is a little bit of jealousy in there, too.

      Thanks!! I really need to print it out and frame it.

      Delete
  5. I struggle with this too. Mainly because I want that warm, big family that gets all crazy on the holidays. I just don't have that. My extended family is awkward and it's stressful to have them around. Thankfully I love my little immediate family and my friends who are my chosen family!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My immediate family and chosen family are awesome!

      Awkward family moments are the worst. It should be all fun and togetherness without any stress - isn't that how it always works in movies? At least by the time the credits are ready to roll.

      Delete
  6. I clicked through and read your linked post. I'm sorry for whatever happened that caused the decisions.

    I grew up in a very small town in Illinois (population 2500). My ENTIRE family lives within 10 minutes of each other. They see each other weekly, even daily sometimes.

    My roots are planted firmly in New England, 1000 miles way. It is painful to know I'm missing so much family time- birthdays, Christmas, even random gatherings. My son adores his cousins and often wishes we'd move there.

    But here, we've got a great circle of friends who have become family. Here, my kids will have an opportunity at a great education and I don't have to drive 25 minutes just to get to the grocery store.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My daughter often talks about wishing we could move closer to her beloved family, too. They are a bit more spread out than yours is, but most of them are within an hour of each other.

      I'm glad you have been able to build a family where you are. Education opportunities and not having to drive 25 minutes to the grocery store are good reasons to be thankful!

      Delete
  7. My mother's family lives in Colorado. I adore them and very rarely get to see them. My sister in California, and I miss her something fierce. Ironically, the family I have living in town might as well live out of town. Makes me sad when I think about it.-Ashley

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is so very sad! I have been in that position, too, in the past, and it is a whole other level of sad.

      Delete
  8. You know when I was younger my mom always came back here for the holidays. When we moved back here it was great to participate in the traditions. As family has passed away the traditions have faded with them. I have famly literally in my back yard that I would rather NOT see than celebrate a holiday with.. yeah.. not good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Angel. I know that whole situation is awful for you. I wish you didn't have to deal with them all the time like that.

      Delete
  9. All my family are pretty close to me, I do not know what how I would feel if those who I am close to moved far away from me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so happy you get to have your family close to you. That is a blessing.

      Delete
  10. How is it we both so often battle the same things? I'm struggling with family feelings too. We were hoping to be able to visit my family for Thanksgiving this year, but money just isn't there. It was going to be the first official family holiday we've had since Ian and I got together. His family lives only an hour away but we see them only briefly if they would come out to a show.
    I'm grateful for the family of my heart, but they live so scattered, I have to pacify myself with video chats and emails. I'm craving that cozy family feeling...

    ReplyDelete