December 1

The National day of Romania

For some people, the month of December can be a tough one for many reasons, some of those reasons I’ll try to elaborate on through the month of December. This is a personal challenge I’ve embarked on since I too have a hard time during the month of December. I will try to create a blog every day for the next thirty days. Let’s begin.

1. Away From Family– I can’t simply get in my car to go visit my blood family from Europe. It’s a far bigger ordeal than a simple car ride, it involves at least fourteen hours of flying, changing airplanes, customs, lines, security, bad food, no sleep, car trips and not to mention it’s expensive. I have one of those fun, loud and full of life families that tell it like it is and jokes constantly. When I miss them, which is almost daily, I must remind myself of one important factor; I chose to come and live here in America. Why? I fell in love, married my American husband and chose him. Here, I’ve received a new family (even though the proper way to write is- I’ve entered into a new family, I’ll stick with “I’ve received” because that’s how I feel about this, you know, like receiving a gift), with their own ways of showing affection  that I can’t brush aside as if it’s not important, because it is. When I feel the oddball  I must intentionally look for some signs of beauty, and ten times out of ten I find beauty. It may not look as my original idea of beauty, taught to me back in Romania, but it’s beauty non-the-less. So you see, my family back in Europe will forever remain my family, and that’s a certain form of security no one can take away, but I’ve gained another family here by having the courage to follow my heart. I’m sure if you’re away from your family and if you truly look around you, you’ll find people you could call family, even if they’re not blood-related. Come back tomorrow for more.