We are family.

There's nothing quite like family. They might be the only people you'll ever know who will be there for you when you need them. And they will for sure be some of the few people in your life that you'll ever truly be honest with, vulnerable to, mean to, happy with, sad with, joyous with, grievous with, loving to, and otherwise crazy all around. I forgot all of this in the past few years.

The last five years I've managed to squeeze in a few trips home. A couple of trips here or there. But typically no more than 3 per year. This is not enough. In my mind it was the perfect amount. And all the trips were long enough to catch up, but not have to get too close or overly personal. I have shared many a moment with a roommate or good friend that could have (and sometimes probably should have) been shared with family.

Moving back up here amidst the crazy and dramatic that is my family, I realized today that I've needed them all along. Maybe I didn't want to be this close and maybe I didn't want to have to share my seemingly perfect and wonderful world with them, but deep down I always knew I needed them. I needed them close by. And as it turns out, they've needed me.