FAMILY MATTERS?

I, like so many others have come to the realization that "family" now means the poeple
that treat you better than those related to you by blood. It is difficult for me to pin point
when this phenomena began. For me after a series of family tragedies; I suddenly
realized that my blood relatives in total hate each other. Understand this realization
came in the midst of family tragedies. Arguably, a time when family comes together
for mutual support and compassion.

Born the youngest of 5 children in Atlanta GA, life was a dream.
We had many of the same ups and downs as any other family.
The only way in which we differed from others in our community is
we (I) was raised in a 2 parent home. My parents stayed married until they
both passed away in 1998. In retrospect; the dysfunction that that began years
before could be seen as an omen.

One of my brothers (2nd oldest) began drinking around the age of 16. By the time he was
18 he was hooked on crack. I don't need to detail the residual attrocities that came from him.
soon after; I discovered that several of my first cousins were addicts as well. By 1986, I
could only stand the company of persons not related to me by blood accept of course my
Mom  and Dad. I think back on that time and try to consider what I could have done
different. I draw a blank because I was close to perfect as a child. I gave my parents very
little grief. In fact I did not visit very much grief on any of my family members.

You may wonder why in 2014 I'm still stressing over Family Matters. The simple answer is
I WANT to have a congenial relationship with my family but I can't do it by myself.
Though too many of my cousins are addicts;  the one's who aren't have
carved out a nice life for themselves. There is where the disconnect is really visible.
If you are without substantial resources or do not posses a high earning potential; you
are not invited to holiday functions, weddings, birthdays etc. But you will be provided with
the details of the event after the fact. To the point; you are great with my family if you
have a lot of money but treated like a leper if you don't.

Today, my best friend is like a "real" brother to me and he, like my real brother is a recovering
addict. You can understand why I'm still in therapy. Maybe you've heard the phrase
"analysis paralysis". It means I'm not doing anything because there is too much going on
in my family and in this country for me to effectively execute a plan of action. Perhaps you
could join me @BoHennessy on twitter and maybe a beneficial dicussion will begin