I have the BEST family

I know I've talked a lot about my Dad on here since I am running my Team Challenge in his honor but seriously, he's great. He is so supportive of everything I do and calls me out on my bullshit (frequently) and listens to my complaints about other family members( even more frequently which is ironic considering the title of this post). Anyway, I thought, real quick, I'd let you know why my family is so awesome to me.

• My mom is my best friend 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time I think we both question how on earth we are related. She tends to care about what other people think of our family and be very private whereas I am very open and honest about things people could care less about. But when it comes down to it, woman has my back. My boyfriend in college broke my heart; in 45 minutes she was in Athens cleaning up my apt, bringing me presents and taking me out to eat. I'm trying to find a job? She is telling everyone she knows how awesome I am and passing out my resume to people she doesn't know. I'm running a race and need to fundraise? She's texting my aunt and uncle to remind them to donate and then throwing her own $200 in the pot.
• My sister is a badass. Children of divorce, like myself, are often forced to grow up way to fast and take on a lot of responsibility. When my mom remarried and had Evan, it was like I got to relive my childhood. I credit her with making me a more fun person than I once was. And she is the first person to beg to go for a run with me or do workout videos (the yoga one was utterly ridiculous and would have been a youtube sensation had we thought to tape ourselves). She is a year round swimmer and just hardworking, dedicated and talented. On top of all that, she's genuinely one of the nicest people I know.
• My brother is a genius. No, really. He doesn't act like it sometimes (hello, 6 years in college) but he is. He's also broke but he still threw together $50 bucks to donate to my race. He also joined dailymile and gives me encouragement on my workouts.
• My dad's family is the most ridiculous family ever. I'd swear 1/2 the time they hate each other but you say one bad thing about one of them and you answer to all of them. They got together and collected $500 to donate in my dad's name so his company would match the donation for my run. On top of that, my Aunt Shelly and her family are coming to Boston with my dad to watch me cross the finish line which is the coolest feeling ever.
• The only family that I think could top my dad's would be my mom's. My grandparents are devout Irish-Catholics and had 11 kids(Cathy, Colleen, Thomas, Timothy, Kelly, Eileen, Sean, Patrick, Nora, Erin and Ryan). Factor in their spouses and children and then throw in the extended family and we could populate a small town. They are constantly in each other's business and giving their two cents. They personify the saying "It takes a village to raise a child". No joke. We all fall down a lot in life and someone is always there to rally around you. My aunt Nora and I have both been working to lose weight and I get periodic texts from her as encouragement. My uncle Ryan used to send me money and now listens to all my gripes and is helping me look for work. My cousins and I talk about once a week now that they are all getting older. It's an ever shifting dynamic that just amazes me.

What are your favorite things about your family? I think it's important sometimes to write it all down because we tend to forget how incredibly amazing our families are. Even when they are completely whacked out, they provide a lesson in life for us. Good or bad, they are the foundation that we build upon- where we go from there is up to us.