100 Word Challenge: Clan

Yesterday was Tuesday. Taco Tuesday to be more precise, and of secondary importance, my birthday.

Midway through my birthday week, and it is progressing nicely.

On Saturday, my daughter and I went to a Bloody Mary Festival where the garnishes were as important as the libation.

On Sunday we went to an art show where we picked up some gorgeous, handblown glass pumpkins. We went to the same studio last year too. This may become an annual, family event.

Monday was my “stay-in-my-pjs-all-day” extravaganza and on Tuesday, my actual birthday, I gorged myself on a particularly tasty taco salad and baked – if I do say so myself – a rather delicious Chocolate/Vanilla Swirl Hazelnut bundt birthday cake.

I received an insane amount of birthday wishes from online friends and IRL friends. The first one coming 17 hours early from Japan, where it was already Tuesday late Monday. (I do believe in time travel.)

Tonight, I’m attending a wine dinner with my beach buddy and daughter. The rest of the week is TBD.

Let’s go back a little further to last week when I played stork in Tennessee. During that trip, I also had dinner with several old friends from high school. (I consider this gathering an aperitif to this week’s birthday festivities.) I was a little nervous about the meet-up. I hadn’t seen a few of the people attending since we graduated some 36 years ago. I have aged a bit since then and was worried about how I would look.

Funny thing was, we had all aged.. and we hadn’t. I would have recognized every one of them without hesitation if I simply happened upon them at the grocery or shopping mall. We picked up talking and laughing like it was June, 1980. We talked about jobs, family, marriages, children, and for some, grandchildren, but we were still those same friends from high school.

During this trip to Tennessee, I also was grateful for the chance to reconnect with my niece and her family. That in itself, was well worth the trip.

These reunions were vivid reminders for me to work harder to maintain these friendships, these first meaningful friendships that helped shape who I became in adulthood, and to preserve family ties. I need to keep these people close, even if we are apart geographically.

You can’t pick the family you are born into, but you can pick the family that sustains you.

That will be my continuing birthday present to myself… to keep my family close, whoever they may be, wherever they may be.

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” ~ Jane Howard

This week’s word is:

Clan

Using “clan” for inspiration, write 100 Words – 100 exactly – no more, no less. You can either use the word – or any form of the word – as one of your 100, or it can be implied. Include a link in your post back here, and add your story to the Mister Linky list. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave your submission in the comment section, or as a Facebook status post. Remember to keep spreading the love with supportive comments for your fellow Wordsters.