French Braid

This long and winding saga is a heartfelt tale about what makes us family. I love how the imagery of a French braid was used to express that point.

The Garrett family isn't perfect. Far from it. They don't always get along, like each other, or say or do the right thing. But they are family. A big, messy multi-generational bunch who try and give up on understanding each other or their relationships.

Speaking of relationships, they aren't actually all that good at them. David barely talks to his family once he's old enough to leave home. Mercy doesn't divorce her husband, she just moves down the street and says she had work to do and might not come home some nights. Alice and Lily are the anti-sisters, nothing alike and disapproving of each other's philosophies.

How can all these (and many more) family members come from the same city, the same lineage, and have so little in common? Well, that's life. In my own family, my siblings and I are nothing alike, in looks or lifestyle, but we've come to the realization that that isn't really important. We have history. We have understanding. We have each other. What more does a family need?

Perhaps it needs the members to be able to not share everything. To understand that if you think your family will disapprove of something, maybe it's easier for no one to mention it, even if everyone knows. It's a little like hiding the truth from oneself to save everyone else pain and embarrassment.

I enjoyed getting to know this large and mostly dysfunctional family just because they weren't perfect.