Family Connections -by Cherrie Thornton
In a previous blog I wrote at the end, “My challenge is to make the time for what I believe now is the most precious thing and that is in connecting through relationships, with family, friends, co-volunteers. Especially family”.
When looking at my current family members, I see my sons and their families and others as well, but what I am now recognizing is that these people are all younger than me. The other day I had a memory of a trip to Scotland (looking for ancestors - more family). I thought “oh, I must call David” (my brother and travel companion) and talk about this with him. Then I realized that he died in 2015, almost 10 years ago. Where has the time gone?
I am now the oldest person in my branch of my family, and it feels a little lonely. There are so many years of memories that I enjoyed sharing with my contemporaries, and while talking about these now is fun, it is not the same as sharing them with someone who was there.
Enter my youngest brother, Scott. When he was born, I was in high school. We had moved from upstate New York to Florida when I started 10th grade; he was 10 weeks old. Soon, I would attend college, marry, and then be gone from his life. So, our childhoods were in very different environments, and we were never close while he was growing up.
Over the years we were in and out of each other’s lives, but I still never felt as close to him as to David. Last January when we got together while I was visiting Florida, we rekindled a friendship. I was so happy about reconnecting. We are continuing conversations via Zoom and enjoying getting to know each other better.
Our relationship is different from my relationship with David, and that is OK. I am learning that a lot is different in my life, change happens whether I like it or not, but I still have family. And I am grateful for that.
After several years as a stay at home mother, Cherrie began a career of computer programming first at Oklahoma State University and then at Kodak Colorado Division.. Later after earning her Masters in Counseling Psychology at the University of Northern Colorado in 1994, she changed her career path to mental health and social work with older adults. Since retirement, she has enjoyed family and friends, travel, painting, and volunteering. She is the mother of two sons and grandmother of four grandsons.
