Support Groups Blog

Family, ah family. When you close your eyes and think of family, is your picture one of bliss, sorrow, grief, anger, humor...? A few blogs ago we were talking about bodies and we said something along the lines of, you have the body you were born with and the body you want and that example is exactly the same for families, you have the family you were born into and the family you wish you were born into. Family is weird, there we have said it. We were raised reading books about perfect families and ever so quirky families on Television.

If you are anything like us and your brain has turned a bit mushy with parenthood and or age and your memory seems to have faded to the point where you are like, “you know the thing where you eat food, no not the kitchen, the thing where you sit and you put your plate on it, A TABLE, that is the word!” It would be far less embarrassing if you were bilingual, but no, your brain just can’t seem to hold onto the important things you need to remember.

Right now you are probably sitting at your computer or staring into your phone and you are reading this blog with your eyes or listening to it with an adaptive reader. Your body may be sitting in a chair or wheelchair, at a desk, in your car at a red light or on public transit. Your body may be relaxed or rigid with stress, sitting upright, slouched, lying down, your legs may be crossed, stretched out, your skin may be brown, black, tan, pale, dark, well preserved or bearer of scars.

It is the year 2022 and we are still tiptoeing around discussing and talking openly and honestly about mental health, addiction, therapy, counseling, rehab and treatment. I remember as a child that when my great grandparents were about to say something either embarrassing or offensive, their voice would drop into a whisper, as if that made it better or more palatable.

It has been one of those very hard to witness news cycles where we all watch in real time while Russia continues to invade Ukraine causing families to be separated, a rising death toll and an overwhelming refugee situation. Sometimes it feels like we are watching a movie, but it is so important not to get numb or complacent about what is happening in the world. While we may live in a country that is still fighting over wearing masks and whether to get vaccinated, there are those an ocean away wondering if today will be their last on this earth due to war.