You Can Pick Your Friends...

You know, as I sit on my lazy butt on a less-than-ambitious Sunday, I've been thinking about things a lot lately. Sheila and I were talking about our neighbor and the subject of relatives came up. I mentioned the old adage, "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family," and it got me to thinking more about my family.

For those of you who don't know me, my parents were divorced when I was about 2 or 3, and both of them remarried. Due to the multiple marriages (dad actually remarried 3 more times), I have a very, very, very, very extended family, and I'm not even including the friends in my life that have become my family, either. Let me give it to you by the numbers:

• Mom and dad's 1st marriage:
• 2 sisters
• 1 brother
• Mom's 2nd marriage:
• 1 half-sister
• 1 half-brother
• 1 step-sister
• 1 step-brother
• Dad's 2nd marriage:
• 2 half-brothers
• 3 step-brothers
• Dad's 3rd marriage:
• 2 step-sisters that later became adopted sisters
• Dad's 4th marriage:
• 1 step-brother

Kind of like a psychotic Brady Bunch (with Cousin Oliver, too)

combined with a satanic 8 is Enough.

Don't even ask me how many nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins that translates to, because honestly, I do not know. To tell you the truth, I've actually discovered a couple more "family" members thanks to Facebook. And, don't ask me to include the furkids, either. We all know I love them, and treat them better than myself, as does Sheila.

What really made me think about my family, sadly enough, was the recent passing of my Uncle Riley. He's the brother of Pops, who is mom's 2nd husband. He was visiting our area recently, and I was supposed to go to mom and pop's to see him, but I had too much going on, and wasn't able to go see him when he was here. Less than a month later, he passed in his sleep. I've been basically kicking myself since I heard the news. I, in no way, thought that it would be my last opportunity to see him. It doesn't matter, though. I should have made time. He's family, and I had not seen him since when pops was in the hospital a couple years ago. I know, there's nothing I can do to change it, but it still doesn't make me feel any better. Uncle Riley was a unique man, and could be a real pain in the ass at times, but he was still my family and I loved him.

Suffice it to say, I love my entire family. Whether they love or get along with each other does not matter to me. That's where the "You can pick your friends..." saying really comes into play. Every one of my family members has issues, myself included. That being said, the only time it pisses me off is when they put their own issues before the family during family emergencies, etc. It's happened before and I'm sure it will happen again. I can't change that, nor can I control that. Therefore, I'll roll with whatever happens. If there's one thing I've learned in almost 50 years of life, don't hold a grudge.

I used to be like my dad, according to my sisters, in that respect. Dad would hold a grudge, not letting it go for anything. I was the same way. That is, until I had my heart attack and subsequent triple bypass. If I learned one thing, don't let the stress build up inside. It can, and will, hurt you. I am living proof, thankfully, of that.

So, when I hear that saying, "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family," I quite agree. Thankfully, I don't have to do that, though. And, even if I did, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to pick anyone close to the ones I have in my life right now. That just shows you how lucky I am. Now, whether that's because of some almighty being, intelligent design, or just the luck of the draw, it doesn't really matter. It's because of all of these people in my life that I am the person I am today, and I would not change that for the world.

So, now that I've gotten that out of the way, time for a little soapbox, if you would indulge me.

Now, with everything going on in the world, we don't know what's going to happen from one day to the next. Between the upcoming election (no-win situation), ISIS (a terrorist organization), Black Lives Matter (imho, a terrorist group) and Pokemon GO (you really didn't think I would not mention that, did you?), everyday is up in the air.

Now, I'm not going to say anything about anyone's opinions, or what they choose to do with their time and lives. That's on them. They are entitled to do what they want, when they want, where they want. That is, as long as it doesn't cause anyone else any pain or isn't illegal. Not that I'm a goody-goody by any means. Anyone that knows me, knows this all too well. But, is it too much to ask that if/when you do what you're going to do, do it without trespassing on someone else's property, hurting another individual, or taking another's life???

Black Lives Matter? Blue Lives Matter? All Lives Matter? FUCK THAT!!!

How about we try...

#LifeMatters

Why do we feel the need to single out a specific race, religion or occupation? Hell, why do we need to single out a specific species of being? Yeah, I know, I'm starting to get a little philosophical, but without other species, i.e. plants, animals, fungi, etc., life is not possible. We need each other to survive. So, please, people can we just live our lives without ending someone else's??? Okay, I'm done.

Before I go, gonna share this little gem of a song by a band that I've recently discovered called Sugar Lime Blue. Hope to one day see these fine folks live, but till then...

Peace, Love and Karma to you all!

I'm out!