The Importance of Being Earnest

I started this post on the 28th of December but never finished it. So here is what I wrote..it's basically some updates for the month of December.

First, my car was fixed...all $6,452 worth of damage. It runs well but I can tell that its not the same as it was before. The auto repair shop did a pretty good job fixing everything but as we speak, my car is in the shop again because I felt like my trunk wasnt closing all the way and my passenger side lights didnt work. So I didnt have signal lights or brake lights on the right side of the car. I could get a ticket or get into another accident, so I took the car back for the final repairs.

Second, on Dec 13th, my mother and I left to Dominican Republic for a family reunion that week. I came back the 19th and my mother came back the 23rd. We were flying using a buddy pass that I got from Victor's job so the tickets were pretty cheap but we have to fly stand by. Turns out everyone and their mother goes to Dominican Republic in December, so I didnt end up leaving on the flight I wanted to. In fact, we ended up going to Puerto Rico and stayed there for 2 days at my aunts house, then took a flight to Dominican Republic Thursday morning, the 15th.

While in DR, we took the opportunity to visit as much family as possible the few days I was there. I spent a lot of time amongst my cousins that took care of me when I was just months old and with cousins that are close to my age and I never get to see because of the distance. On the 18th, we had the family reunion and I got to meet uncles and cousins that I only knew by name. There were people that I never even knew existed and there were people that I had only met once in my life and didnt even recognize them. The experience was unforgettable. I have to say it was one of the best in my entire life. The way I felt amongst my family was surreal. Everyone was accepting and everyone embraced the other as if we knew each other our whole lives. I was comfortable, I didnt feel judged, I felt loved, content and I felt so happy.

I am glad I got to realize how important family really is and how necessary it is to ones health. I will definitely be making more of an effort to stay in contact and to visit family as often as I can.