So…

I’m not big on the idea of family.

Not to be glib, but I don’t want to dwell on the bad when I’m here to praise the good. The short version is for the first twentyish years of my life, I didn’t have the best example. I had a mother and grandmother who looked after me, a completely disinterested father, and an array of relatives invested in my well-being (though their definition was centered on “making” something of my potential with little thought to my emotional or mental health). I received a lot of guidance. Empathy, on the other hand, was in short supply.

Anyway.

Because I’m not into family as a concept, I occasionally forget I’m related to some of my very favorite people. Over the weekend, traveling the 3.25 hours (and driving through West Virginia to get back to Ohio?) to watch as my big brother welcomed his son into his fraternity—on the very campus where he pledged, no less—reminded me.