The Importance of Family

I'm sitting here on a wood deck, shaded by trees that are 60 feet tall, listening to the sounds of laughter, splashing water, birds chirping, and "Land Down Under" playing on the loud speakers at the camp across the lake. Here in the mountains of the Cherokee National Forest, it seems like we are eye level with the white clouds hovering at the base of a radiant blue sky. There is a juxtaposition of people and animals, technology and nature here, and yet, they are in complete harmony with each other. I can hear speed boats cruising the waters of Lake Ocoee. I was born in Texas, but Tennessee blood flows in my veins. 70 years ago, my grandparents got married and started a legacy I don't think they could have ever envisioned. When I think of family, I think of Cleveland, TN. You may not have heard of this little town, but it has had a strong influence on the values I hold today. Every year, someone will say the phrase, "but, we're family." The older I get, the more that phrase has come to mean. Through good times and bad times, we've mostly had good times. Here in Cleveland, TN, I now travel 800 miles just to hear my cousin say Kim-bur-lay in the Tennessee drawl that is unique to this area. Once upon a time it would have annoyed me, but today, it is the music to my ears that reminds me there is no place on earth like where I'm at right now. My family is a family of story-tellers and every year we get together to re-tell our tall tales and create new ones. Every day is an adventure and every year I'm reminded of that in a little pocket of Polk County. In Texas we say, "Go Big or Go Home", but in Tennessee is where I learned that means big adventures, big stories, and big love. We've stuck together through kids, college, marriage, divorce, jobs, lay-offs, addictions, broken bones, broken hearts, fights, food, and fun. It is an amazing legacy my grandparents have passed on to us. A love that keeps giving even when it's not deserved. Values like freedom, hard work, laughter, generosity, and, most of all, being a good parent are values I learned here. It matters more whether you're willing to go on a pontoon boat ride and watch the sun set over the dam, or go on a kayak trip down the Hiwassee than how fat your bank account is. I'm a part of something special, a family like no other, and I wouldn't be the person I am today without them. So every year when I think I don't have the money or the vacation time to travel to our family reunion, I remember, "but, we're family" and I make it happen. I believe in a world of infinite abundance; let us create it together! Cooke Clan Summer 2014: Sharing Is Caring