Mi Vida Loca

Hello everyone!
Well today was just a regular Thursday for  me. (with the exception of having lunch with my amazing Daddy!) but other than that, just class as usual. There have been a lot of things that have been weighing hard on my heart and I think I would actually feel better if I just wrote them down. So, with that being said...here it goes...
As I grew up, I had the typical family that I was surrounded by and to this day I love them dearly and don't know where I would be wothout them. A little background if you don't know me- I am Philipino, and was adopted by my parents when I was 1 day old while they were missionaries in the Phillippines. I was their souvenir! After adopting me they continued with their calling to be missionaries until I was about 6 months old I believe. While they enjoyed the their time there, they wanted to surround me with my new family! So...we come back to my daddys hometown in Mississippi, and have lived here ever since. I love it here and it is definitely no other place like it! Some (along with myself) dubbed it with the name "God's Country". Both sides of my family lived here so as I grew up, I was so blessed to have developed relationships with everyone. I loved spending summers with my cousins at my grandparents house! (Both sets lived on farms that had every animal you can imagine!) We would go on camping trips, go fishing, and take road trips where all of the grand-children would have so much fun! However, the most fun that I remember having was during the holidays or just family get-togethers where my entire family was at my grandparents house! There is no other feeling like it. Laughing, talking, reminiscing about old times, and sometimes we would even watch old home videos! To be able to be around everyone and knowing that we had a bond that held us together through thick and thin no matter what. It just warms my heart.
Now don't get me wrong, there were hard times and I am quite sure there are more to come, but the way these hard times are dealt with can make a tremendous difference for a family's future. With that being said, at some point during my childhood, there were times that there were disagreements and arguements between my father and his siblings. These disagreements were over certain things like land, property and basically the benefits that they were to inherit when my grandmother passed away. This sounds so awful, but it happens. I can't imagine how this made my grandmother feel. She was being persuaded by a daughter, while her sons defend her and see this situation as "we will deal with it when the time comes but right now, we should not add this kind of stress on our mother". I can totally understand my dad and uncles point of view. My uncle even lived with my grandmother and helped take care of her and the homeplace, while my aunt (who lived right next door) would come around maybe once a week. The last and most devastating of arguements happened when i was about 14 years old. I had just been given a horse for my birthday, and while I lived in a neighborhood with no back yard, my grandmother offered hers which came equipped with a barn and the space suitable for her. I was so excited!! So every weekend we made the hour and a half drive to my grandmothers to spend time with her and to take care of my horse. I LOVED it! As time went on, my aunt was getting very bent out of shape because I had my horses (we ended up breeding my horse, and kept her colt) on land that would become hers when my grandmother passed away. So, there were some heated words between them, and eventually I had to sell  my horses. Because of this arguement, I began seeing my family in an entirely different light. Greed, manipulitive attitudes and ulterior motives were seen in my aunt. This was very disheartening for me. I looked up to her. I could not understand why she would act this way. Eventually this led to a period of time where there was no communication between her and my father as well as my uncle. Again, I can't imagine how this made my grandmother feel. I shudder at the thought. From then on, family gatherings were not the same. If the get together was at my aunts, my uncle was not invited, and if it was at my grandmothers, there would be tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Most of the gathering occured during the holidays (the time where being with your family is needed!), and here my family can't even sit in the same room, much less talk or laugh about old times.
After my grandmother passed away, my inherited my grandmothers house (which my uncle lived in at the time because he took care of her) and the land surrounding it which butts right up next to her land...hmmm I guess thats why she was so anxious to get it. Well she kicked my uncle out, and SOLD my grandmothers house to a family that actually "moved" the house to their land 30 miles away. This is the house that my father and his siblings grew up in, they built this house when my father was 2 years old. There were so many wonderful memories that were had in this house. Like I said, my father spent his entire childhood growing up in this house! I just so wish that it could have been kept in the family.
Now my uncle lives in a camper on the land that was left to him from my grandmother, no electricity or running water but he makes it...all the while my aunt is right down the road in her nice house ,that is no longer next to my grandmothers,  on a piece of land that looks as though it is missing something. The beautiful magnolia trees that I climbed when i was a child, the giant oak tree with my rope swing, fruit trees that my grandmother loved were all cut down and burned. An eerie foreshadowing of what was to become of the my family that I loved.
Just yesterday, I received 2 letters from my uncle. One of the letters was written to me, and the other I was instructed to give to my dad. The main point in the letter to me was that he had felt as though he had lost the only brother he'd ever had. It's almost as though he was reaching out to the only family that will have anything to do with him. I love my uncle dearly, and while I don't share some his opinions (that is exactly what they are OPINIONS and everyone is entitled to their own!) that he has; he is still my family and always will be. I will never turn my back on him because of some silly material, petty, meaningless arguement that stems from greed and hatred. I don't see how someone could shut out a family member as they have. If you can't depend on family, who else can you depend on? Scary thought huh?
While thinking of this situation, makes me think of what my mother's side of the family would give to have their brother back. My uncle on my mother's side passed away unexpectedly, and it really took a toll on our family. He was young, just recently married and was co-owner of a very successful gym in Dallas so it broke our hearts that he was taken away from us so soon.
While I can't undo what has been done or take back the words that were spoken, I can look past a lot of this and be there for my uncle as well as my aunt if either need me. There are so many people that would give anything to have their loved ones back, while some are too busy shutting out the loved ones that live right down the road. Kinda makes you realize whats REALLY important doesn't it? Never take someone (especially a family member) for granted, because you never know when God will call them home. Why not have a life filled with joy and happiness and making lifelong memories with the ones you love rather than shutting out your loved ones, and only looking to better your situation by seeking money/land/property (things you can not take with you when you leave this world). Please read this with an open heart, and if there is someone in your family (or friend family) that needs you, reach out to them, tell them you care, tell them that you love them; never left anything unsaid, because the last thing you say to someone, may just be the last thing you say to them so make it something heart-warming and not heart-crushing.