Reflected In Their Eyes (Originally published on December 4, 2006)

It is an experience that is rare although not new to me. You see the eyes of a loved one when they look on someone you have just met. You see their eyes light up and follow their gaze. What happens next is both instantaneous and magical.

Love goes out in all directions. It joins people. It spreads. I have always felt that we define our families. That we choose to consider someone a brother, a sister, an aunt, or an uncle regardless of bloodlines. I have been blessed with an amazing family. A group of people brought together by birth whom I am honored to consider friends.

That amazing family is growing. I realized recently that when I first saw my sister look at my brother-in-law, he became my friend. Whatever doubts I may have had vanished. Something just clicked. I was immediately aware that my sister was in love but there was something more. I felt immediately close to him.

I now look back and see the reaction occurring numerous times. Those things that make the people you love happy make you happy. It seems so simple. The experience itself is no less amazing.