GUEST COLUMN: "Growing Up Together

My sister just got married. Which means that I now own a very ugly, very expensive dress that I will never wear again unless they make another sequel to "The Addamms Family.8 It also means my family is growing up. I have the unique honor of having been raised since I was ten, by my aunt and uncle. This means I have had the chance to not only have one sisters but two other siblings in the forms of my cousins. And we're all growing up. A few weeks agog Gabe went to the prom. Seth, whose diapers I changed, just graduated from elementary school. I was Sethts age when I came to live with my aunt and uncle. Last month I graduated college. Andy Heatherqjust got married. Which means, she's a wife. What does all this mean? Why should you care? Because I have been hearing a lot lately about the disintegration of the American family. And I am here to remind people that just because not every home has 2.4 kids and a mom and a dad, it doesn't mean that it's not a home. These people who are growing up are my family. My aunt and uncle took me in, and their sacrifice and love goes without saying. But, my cousins, who never thought twice about allowing me into their family, deserve some credit as well. And my sister, who has always been the force backing up my every step, should be noted. We got a strong dose of what it means to be a family from two people who took a bad situation and made it beautiful. Every one of these people are my role models. The kind that all those sociologists and psychologists and lots of other -ists keep telling us we need. So, why should you care? Because, Seth is only 11, and I respect and admire him. Gabe may be a foot taller than I am, but he's only 17, and I can go to him for moral support. Heather has a job that takes up 15 hours a day, and she has time to talk to me 3 times a week. And my aunt and uncle are two of the finest human beings I've ever known. So, the reason you should care is that we all have opportunities to be like these people. Everyone has a chance to be a role model, to make a difference, despite the numbers that tell us that families no longer exist. And there is no way to know who is out there, who we are effecting. I'm sure my family doesn't realize that I tip my hat to them every day. But I do. Thatws why I try to be as decent and human as possible. Because you never know how much you may be effecting someone easers life. They" may say the family is deadJ and people only care about themselves. But ~~they~~ have never met my family, which is still going strong. And, of course, growing. Emily Gold - 387-1008 graduated CAB 12/94