Family is good

What is it about family that makes it so special to me?
Within the last three months I have lost three members
of my family: My brother-in-law, Gary Bailey;my younger
cousin, Robert Darby; and my Uncle, Sheild McCandlish.
During the next 8-9 months, I will acquire 3 new great
nephews or nieces. And so it goes. The new can never
replace the old but they will bring their own contributions
to the family as a whole. We don't forget those who have
gone but sometimes we don't talk about them very much
because it might hurt those who were the mates or
parents or immediate children of the deceased and we
don't want to hurt them further. I enjoy remembering
those who have gone and I like talking about them. I think
it must hurt more to have the silence, to seem as
though we had forgotten them. They are our history and
our memories.......of our lives.