Family

Family is a funny word. It's definitely a noun referring to those folks we share some blood with or marry into, but at some point we turned it into a compliment. People say you're like family when they want to make you feel liked or welcomed, or to show how much they care about someone. It's honestly gotten kind of cheesy, but I too am guilty of having a number of friends I think of as family.

The folks I work with often talk about our school as a family, and I kind of get it. We have people we look to for advice, we have rivalries and in-fighting, we have friendships, and we support each other during hardships and celebrations. But I guess I felt like calling our faculty family was a bit of a stretch until we gathered today for a Thanksgiving dinner. We all cooked and brought something, everyone had their families with them, and we all ate together in a big space we rented. It was definitely comforting.

I must say that as much as I have enjoyed traveling the world and spending my vacations in strange destinations, holidays really are the hardest times to be so far away. The last two Thanksgivings I have been in China, so I was too distracted to think about it, but it was really nice to eat real mashed potatoes and turkey, to sit and talk over a good meal with a bunch of people I know well, and to sort of have that traditional holiday experience. Family doesn't seem like such a stretch for the staff at my school right now. I'm certainly thankful to be surrounded by such good folks.