Floating iceberg to Exile Island

It has been a wonderful week. I became a grandmother this week. I am so ready for the task of extending my wisdom to another generation beyond my own children. My granddaughter is beautiful. But in all the running around following the commotion of such an historic event, I forgot to call one of my dear sisters and let her know that the baby is here! So, OMG, when I did call her I found out that I had broke her heart. She knew that my daughter was in labor but she wanted a follow up and I let her down. I was sick at heart over this. I come from a big family and I know how fast news travels in that crowd. I figured someone would call her right away. They didn't. During our call, my sister told me that sometimes she feels like one of those contestants on Survivor who is sent to Exile Island. There she sits all alone. And I told her that I know the feeling. All my family, besides my husband and kids, live hundreds of miles from me in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Sometimes, when I find out that an elderly relative died years ago, or that the family is getting together for a big dinner, or that so and so's baby is walking and I didn't even know they had a baby, and I realize that no one bothered to inform me of any of this, I feel like I've been set out on an iceberg to float away on icy, Artic waters. There I sit all alone. On comparing our poor, pathetic states, we both laughed. The thing is, I feel bad about this because this particular sister has been like a twin to me. She knows my heart better than anyone in my family. And maybe that is how this fiasco happened. When you are close to someone, it is as if they can read your mind and know your thoughts at any given time. In some sense I kind of figured she'd know but I took her for granted and hurt her. This got me to thinking about love and my family. I have decided that my granddaughter's birth should be a symbol of new birth in my relationships with my family, not just with my children but my extended family as well. I want to know about my siblings and their hopes and dreams. I want to know about my nieces and nephews and their children. My granddaughter will only benefit by having strong ties to her family. I guess the whole thing comes back to my basic thoughts about love. Love is like a living creature. It needs nurishment, protection and expression to live. I want to make sure that whenever any of my loved ones has a feeling of being set out on an island or iceberg they have a rope of love to hold onto.