photo by me

There are things about family and life that you don’t realize until they happen.

This weekend, Shadow, Justice, Willow, and I went down to Phoenix. We went to Todd’s most recent fire station to see it, check out the trucks (they are different at the different stations), and to hang out with him for a little while. I, of course, shot lots of photographs while there.

On Sunday, we went to the Renaissance Fair.

It was so much fun. We all just hung out and enjoyed ourselves together. We bought “faire” food, walked around a lot, and did some rides. The weather was perfect. The company was excellent.

As we were packing up to go, Todd and Cathy came out to tell me that they really liked the photographs that I had taken and framed as a gift to one of his previous stations. They said that they were really good and that they thought the station would really like them.

Then Todd told me he’d like to sit down with me after they move into their new house to go through all of the photos I’ve taken of him and his firefighter career so that he can decorate his new office with photos from that.

It was nice to hear that he wanted my help doing that and that he likes my photographs well enough to want to hang them up in his house, where many people will see them.

As we were driving home, Shadow and I were talking. We were discussing our lack of religion in our lives and how we feel that it isn’t something that we miss because we have everything that we need. He says to me, “I have a best friend / spouse, wonderful kids, and siblings that make my life great. I probably have more than I deserve.”

And I thought about that. I’m in that group. And I feel the same way about him and Todd. They are my family and I feel so rich for having them in my life.

It’s not just my brothers, though. It’s their wives, who welcome me into their homes and make me feel like a part of their family. It’s Willow and Justice who I completely adore.

It’s a sense of something even bigger than all of us. It’s this thing that links us. It’s this bond that no one else can ever understand because it requires history, shared lives, and shared dreams. It requires respect and love.

And those, we all give in spades.