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I'm back after two months exactly. I have so much in my head, my mind, and my heart that I want to share, but I don't know how to organize all of them. I want to talk about songs, crying, mothers, home, illnesses, what it means to be a family, loyalty, love - why do we seek it and what a lack of it means, politics, genuineness, and the list goes on... What it means to be a family. That's what I'm going to write about first. --- My family isn't that big, but the ties that connect us are one of the biggest and strongest ones I have ever seen. Having a family is a wonderful thing. I'm lucky to have one that accepts me for who I am, which is even more amazing. People who will laugh with you, and not just because it's appropriate for them to do so, but because they can't help but do so, who will worry about you, think about you, and miss you. I don't think we appreciate it on a daily basis, but it is one of the greatest fortunes to have a family. A family doesn't have to be made up of parents, grandparents and siblings; it can simply be you and your partner, your friend who has been on your side ever since you've known yourself, your parents, your son or daughter, or maybe even your dog (but that's not exactly the kind of family I'm talking about). Your family is what makes your house a 'home', somewhere you look forward to come back to at the end of every day, a cozy, safe getaway. But it's strange when even one of the bonds that ties a family member to another is broken . And it's difficult to tie it back together. But the way you handle such situations determines whether or not that bond will go back to its original strength, or remain loose until something else comes along to completely tear it apart.