Those of you who follow me on social media know that in the past couple of months, I’ve been able to reunite with some of my cousins on both my dad’s and mom’s side of the family.

In November, I met up with two of my cousins in Texas, a meeting that led to a cousin group message with them, my sister, and another first cousin of ours.

To celebrate my 22nd birthday, a cousin of mine came into town, and we were able to spend all weekend together. Shopping and watching Netflix and going to a concert with her was so fun. It was as if we’d never stopped hanging out for longer than a few months or so. Her visit was extremely refreshing to me as I was in the middle of transitioning in different place.

Yesterday, I got to see my cousins on my mom’s side of the family during and after a Christmas party. I just realized that I hadn’t seen one of them in five years.

All of these visits have really made me realize how much I’m missing out on seeing my family members. Catching up with them, learning where they are working/what they are currently doing with their lives, finding out the different hobbies and skills that they have just opened my eyes to how truly special my family is. I mean, I already knew we were special (and pretty good-looking, if I do say so myself haha), but knowing the details just made me want to be a part of their lives even more.

It can be difficult to see everyone from your family, especially when everyone lives in distant places, and everyone’s got different work schedules and whatnot. But with technology as advanced as it is, I feel like there’s no excuse anymore to try to keep up.

Which is why I’m thrilled that the first cousins on my dad’s side (all the girls, at least) have started a group text message so we can catch up with each other, tell each other prayer requests, and send funny memes and gifs. And I’ve already set a time for me in the middle of January to drive the couple hours to Atlanta to see my Filipino aunts and cousins because I am TOO ready to see them again.

Now that I’m done with school and am working with a somewhat consistent schedule, it’s time for me to keep in contact with my family more. I’m so bad at it, but I want one of my New Year’s resolutions to be getting better at staying in touch as best as I can with all of my family.

I know I’m not going to be perfect at it, but family’s too important to just shove under the rug, and I don’t know about y’all, but I find that with a lot going on in my life, my family is something that I tend to take for granted a lot of the time. Maybe the fact that I know my family is always going to be there for me is the reason why I don’t try as hard to keep up with them.

But then again, family isn’t always there. I can’t tell you how many people (some I know personally, others I’ve just seen on social media) who have recently lost loved ones, or who are still grieving over the loss of a loved ones. We’re never promised tomorrow. I don’t want to be all negative, but it’s just the truth.

I already wrote a post a month or so ago about not taking my family for granted. In that post, I was thinking more of my immediate family, but shoot, when I focus too much on my issues and other things going on in my immediate world, distant family gets taken for granted too.

I become too concerned about what other people think of me, or whether people are pleased with me or not. But man, when I think of the people who have stuck by me despite my faults and failures, yeah, some of them are really great friends that God has blessed me with, but most of them are family members that God’s blessed me with. I get a little teary-eyed when I think of all the amazing, talented, and loving people there are in my family. Yeah, family can be messy too, but I’m blessed to have family members that love each other in spite of it.

I am especially missing my cousins right now, the ones pictured above, and those who aren’t pictured. Life goes by so fast. People physically grow, voices get deeper, circumstances change, and time doesn’t slow down at all.

I think of all the concerts I went to this past year, which was a lot of fun, and I got to do it with my best friend and sister. But then again, how much of that money could have been used to go see my family and do things with them? I think of how much love and respect we have for one another. Man, if I was rich, I’d treat each of them with something they’d want every time I saw them. We’d go on week-long trips to different places and just enjoy each other’s company. Maybe one day.

So, I am praying that this year, the Lord provides me more time and more money to see my family. And that I’d be better at keeping in touch with those who are further away.

#JustStartWriting

❤ Mishy