My family and I just got back from a vacation to Topsail Island, North Carolina (note: We've gone every summer since before I was born, minus the five year gap between this summer and the last time we went). I'm sure everyone has something that they immediately think of when they think of childhood summers. Going to N.C. is mine, and being that we hadn't been there in years, imagine our excitement when my dad told us he booked a house.
There is something special about going to the beach, feeling like you can escape the world around you for a quick minute and just losing track of time. Now, I totally understand that families are complicated. Personally, I know I don't ALWAYS get along with my siblings (yes, all five of them). Yes, my sister and I do fight. No, I don't always agree with my older brothers decisions. Sometimes my parents and I butt heads.
But last week, I had a good reminder of what family really is. Last week, everyone except my dad got annoyed at one of my older brothers. At the time, I couldn't see my dad's logic behind his decision about the situation. But after talking with him later in the week, and again last night, I totally understand, agree with, and admire my dad. Yesterday, I was showing my dad album of old school pictures from Topsail Island. One was of said brother in a raft near the tide when he was about five years old. My dad said that regardless of the fact that he is now twenty-three, married, and has children of his own now, my brother will always be like that little boy in the raft who was afraid to go in the water past his knees.
Because that is, and always has been, what Topsail Island means. It means spending time with family. And as it turned out, this turned out to be a very cool trip for me to see. I guess you could consider my siblings and I to be the second generation when it comes to family vacations to Topsail. But now that my brother has children of his own, I got to see third-generation Milligan's enjoy the beach. The very first thing my brother and his wife did when he got to the house around midnight was go outside and show the beach and ocean to his daughters for the first time (well, one was there the last time we went, but she was nine months old at the time, so she probably doesn't remember much). My dad knew right away how much it mean to my brother to share one of his favorite places in the world with his children.
So, like I was saying, this past week, I learned a lot about family. Your family is the group of people who are willing to support your decisions whether they agree with them or not. These are the people that have seen you fall flat on your face, make an idiot out of yourself, and make straight up stupid decisions, but do not judge you. They've always got your back in the end. They drive you crazy, but make you laugh your socks off at the same time.
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