I count you twice

I'll be honest, sometimes coming from a large family can be difficult. This week we lost my mother in law to cancer. It hurts when bad things happen to those we love. Then, at the end of the week, we celebrated my family reunion in California as we did 4 years ago, and 2 years ago in Rhode Island. We are social animals, it's part of our species,we form bonds. These are the people we share the details of our lives with, the good and the bad. We lean on each other for support. We may disagree amongst ourselves, but we defend against attacks from the outside. Family comes in another form, we call them friends. Here again, I am truly blessed. Among my family of friends are my coworkers. When we started meeting with others from throughout the hospital, we started caring about them. We've been through a lot together, and we know there are struggles and victories ahead of us. As with any family it comes with both good times and bad but most importantly, it brings support. Like any family we don't always agree, but let no one attack us from outside, for we will always stand together as brothers and sisters. There is an old Irish saying, "when I count my blessings, I count you twice". To my large family of blood relatives and friends, thank you for being there. I truly count you twice.