Family

Family has become so much more important since I have been diagnosed with cancer. Phone calls, letters, emails,and visits are so much more important than they ever were. Family that lives across the country seems so much closer now than before. When I was little it seemed our family was tighter and closer. Now as adults with our own families we drift in out like the waves on the beach. Today my brother called and said he is moving from Oregon to retire in Puerto Rico. The saddness that filled me so quickly was surprising and unexpected. It is not as we see each other on a regular basis...but knowing he was just an 8 hour car ride away was reassuring and comforting. He raised me.....stepped in when my father passed away. Now he is leaving half way around the world to live near my sisters that I know but don't know. I want to beg him to stay but understand the need to go. The family ties are so much looser now..........not as binding as they were. Maybe it is the illness that makes me feel a deeper saddness......don't know.....just wish my family were closer and no one was drifting away.