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| She's my person. |
What's behind that statement is the truth that family members are "friends" you're stuck with -- forever!
I've been thinking a lot about family today and not simply because I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. Last night I attended the latest Arc Light Stories event, which features unscripted storytelling before a live audience. Saturday night's stories were all about family and aptly dubbed "Thicker Than Water." (Check out hubster's article on last night's event.)
Last night I was thinking about that idea of friends being family you choose and realized how blessed I am to have (some) family members that I'd spend time with even if biology and tradition didn't dictate that I do so. A perfect example is my cousin Tasha. She is one of the funniest, smartest, and nicest people I know. She's beautiful and creative and a woman of strong faith.
Tasha recently had a birthday and in a sappy Facebook post I told her that the title "cousin" just doesn't quite seem sufficient. Even cute phrases like "my sister from another mister" don't cut it.
I need a phrase that expresses that she's family I would choose. If I got a do-over and had the chance to hand pick all my relatives she'd still be on my family tree because she's not just my cousin but my best friend.
I think the writers of Grey's Anatomy gave me the phrase I was looking for. As Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey say about each other, "She's my person."
She's my person because we understand and appreciate each other's quirks. Our lists of things we love and things we loathe are nearly identical. And since we our college days she's always been my biggest cheerleader. I could call this girl right now and say I've decided I want to be an astronaut and she wouldn't discourage me or call me crazy. She'd just say, "OK, let's figure out how we're going to do this."
I hope she knows I'd travel to the moon for her too.
