Nope there is no evil stepmom in this story of my life. I am currently in the middle of reading a story, a fairy tale romance that is a quick and easy read. I am so grateful to be able to read a book again. A year ago I couldn’t pick up a book and devour it the way I have always loved doing throughout my entire life. I never thought I would see a time when I couldn’t pick up a book and be pulled into the romance or intrigue of what was being said to me through the author’s telling of a story they had written. A year ago I couldn’t even concentrate long enough to get a page or two read. Have you ever felt so lost you couldn’t concentrate on the basics? I cannot describe it very well except to say I can now again happily devour a book and start it and not want to put it down. The difference in my storybook from last year to this year involves a lot of help from people in my life and especially me choosing to find my happy again.
My storybook life has extra people in it… if I started to explain my family tree you would likely get lost in the telling of the first layer. I have been blessed with people that have chosen to be a part of my life and I am so grateful for the ones that picked me to share in life’s journey with them. I consider so many people family and I am thrilled to be in place in my life that allows me to spend time with so many of them on a regular basis. The family that lives in my house is beyond special. They have a place in my heart that will never diminish. My good looking hubby picked me to be his family and I am living the fairy tale of love and life with him. Let’s be real – it is real life, dirty dishes, cooking and laundry never stop but thankfully because of him most of those things have also been continuing on as they always do this last year. Chris has stepped up and helped in this last year more than I have ever asked him to as I needed help. He has been my backbone and my Prince Charming standing behind me as I work on me and getting me to a place that is able to read stories again. My girl is one that got put into our lives and she makes every day better even if some of the days can be challenging. Her latest way to get under our skin instantly is her whining… how do you cure a kid of whining non-stop? In the end though we love her without question and she completes our story of the three of us at home; she expanded our family upon her arrival nearly 5 years ago.
The layer of family just outside my home that helped me become who I am is so numbered that I would likely bore you trying to tell you how each of them makes a difference in my life. However I am going to tell you about just a few of them. Let me just say that the opposite of ugly evil stepmom exists in my life… I’ve got the best lady helping me in life her name is Anne, she choose to be family over 30 years ago. In May it will be officially 30 years since she married my Dad… wow does time fly when the clock of life keeps ticking by. I will be forever grateful for the time in my growing up that has been changed by the lady that agreed to marry my Dad. Anne is one of my constant support system figures and she loves spending time with me and listening to me when I need to ramble. Blessed beyond measure am I in the world of stepdads. I got the pleasure of having Mert as my stepfather when I was a young kiddo. He picked me to help raise even if I tried to scare him off over our first meeting and a bowl of peppermint chocolate chip ice cream. That man played a significant part of my life until his passing when I was just newly 16 years old. I cannot even begin to count the ways that he made my life better and all the times that I find myself smiling because a part of him is still reminding me of his memory. Later in my adult life I gained another winner in the stepdad category, Jim joined my life when I was an adult and out of the house. He still plays a significant part of how great life can be when family helps you on a regular basis throughout your story. Jim choose to marry my Mother who came with 3 girls to his two boys and a girl. See I told you the next layer outside of my family tree gets complicated fast once you leave the walls of my home. The two of them have been extremely helpful this last year as I needed guidance I hadn’t sought before, they have also been amazing at helping to provide my girl some of her favorite traditions… cookie baking and decorating likely at the top of the list. Seeing my girl find joy with people like Anne and Jim that have chosen to be a part of my life is pretty incredible. We are blessed in layers of family that didn’t have to be a part of our lives but rather chose to be.
There are so many meanings and ways you can look at how you have family in your life. For some people a large noisy gathering of many people you are related to by marriage is family, sometimes is it by blood and none of your choosing, but sometimes it those choosing to live life with you. Some people only have small, tiny quiet gatherings of a few important people in their lives. Me I am blessed with many family members, loved ones and people that love me as family even if we have no actual relation to one another. Family is a great word and one that reminds us not only of the people that support us but also those there cheering us on in life. Thank you to those of you that are my family, whether through blood, marriage or choosing to be a part of my life! This story is for sure not over but certainly set to continue with more chapters. For now though I am going to go back to my story tale romance and see how that book turns out.
The Family Thompson 