So, I took another long break from writing my blogs for a variety of reasons, but now I’m back and we’ll see how much I’ll get back on top of it. January flew by and there wasn’t anything too exciting besides the normal Belgian weekend of going out with friends to the usual places.

Towards the end of the month I had to attend to some family business back in Washington State and got to see a lot of my relatives whom I haven’t seen in years. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with cousins and reconnect our separate and extremely different lives. Aside from our natural commonality of having the same grandparents we don’t have much in common. We all have extremely different pasts and it is easy to see that we will have very different futures, but I am happy to share that we are all blind to which paths we are each on. My relatives see blood as a binding gift from God that nothing or nobody can divide. No matter where I have been, what I have done, or how bad or good of a person I am, they will each invite me into the comfort of their arms without hesitation. We do accept that we all have our differences, but we know we can always go to one another for whatever reason imaginable and they will help you with whatever you need. I also have to point out that I have a big family of almost 50 cousins, so it is tough to keep in touch and up to date on who has how many kids and what they’re doing with their lives. But when I go back to Washington I know I can continue the conversation I had with them from four years before. I think the toughest part is not being a part of everybody’s daily lives, but it’s understood that we all have different lives to lead. I am thankful for my cousins, my entire family for that matter, and I can’t wait to pick up on the conversation I last had with them.

With that in mind, I have to say something about my uncles and aunts who have been through hell and back for us 3rd generation Mexican-Americans. My grandparents did everything they could so their kids could have better lives and they are doing the same for us (and which we will do for our children). As any normal humans, they have their problems and issues to overcome but it is important to stress that they are the ones who instilled in us our morals and to value the gift of our family. Each one of them approaches each one of us (their nieces and nephews) as their own children and care deeply for us and I think they know we feel the same way about them. I can’t ever express my gratitude for their being a part of my life. In all, my trip back to Washington was a refresher and reminder that family lasts forever whether we are physically present or not. Far or close, we can pick up on the last conversation we left off on. I can’t wait to pick up the conversation I last left off on with my Tio Manuel.

Oh, and the picture above is my nephew, Antonio, the newest generation in my family.