Families huh! Some of us have them and know them well. Others don’t have any family at all. Some of us have families that we don’t know very well. We don’t all have memories of childhood spent with brothers, sisters, cousins and extended families.

I am blessed that as an adult I met a whole lot of cousins. Dad was one of eight children. A good catholic family, so lots of cousins. The things I love about spending time with my cousins, is that even though we haven’t spent time together as kids, when we meet as adults that connection is there. We all get on. It feels like a homecoming, that gathering of like minded souls. So to my cousins, thank you for welcoming me and my kids and hubby into the family.

As a mother, a parent, I fully appreciate my children are all grown up with lives of their own. Independent, with busy lives. I am so proud of who they are. From time to time I do find myself acting like they are still little, fussy a little too much when we get together. I don’t mean to. I will promise to try to pull back and be more adult and grown up about the whole thing. Acting more casual and not trying so hard. But gee, as a mum that is tricky, or maybe that’s just me.

A real aha moment for me, as we continue to navigate this world, re-inventing ourselves through each stage of life. This reminds me again, of the need to define myself. Who am I as me, and not in relation to others? Who I am as a person, not as a carer or a mother or a wife or a friend.

We don’t always have a say in the hand we are dealt with in our lives, but we do get to choose how we respond and react. We get to be in control after all. We can choose who we are. Now that’s exciting!