Relationships

In 1997 my daughter asked about her family heritage and I had very few answers. Since then I have become "addicted" to family history. In 2001 I discovered family roots from an island off the coast of Sweden called Öland. I found family! After over 110 years of no contact we are now family again. In 2002 they came to Michigan to visit us, in 2003 we went to Sweden and lived with them for 2 weeks. Anna-Lena, my 2nd cousins daughter, is so close in heart and spirit I consider her as my own daughter. She is a wonderful, beautiful, blond "Swede" who has her masters in music, teaches music in high school in Sweden. We are at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as religion is concerned, but we do not argue, we love each other too much to risk hurting the other. You can see her comment on my posting titled "startled and frightened!" below.

Relationships, I cherish them so much. Family is important. I have learned through the years to work hard to make family ties strong. I hope you are working hard at yours as well, regardless of your differences. The picture above was the first picture I received from Anna-Lena. I cried. She is family.