Me & Mia

It is likely that you grew up with people you resemble. You can pinpoint exactly where parts of your personality originate. Your facial features... your preferences.. your mannerisms.. This is normal, typical of traditional family make-up. You've probably never even thought twice about it, really. You've always seen faces that reflected your own.

I haven't. And that's been …okay… my whole life. You don't have to look like people to be family. I've known and believed that from a very early age. But if I've learned anything in the last couple years during my unexpected and amazing journey of reuniting with my biological family members, it is that genetics is SO COOL! I now have more parents, aunts, siblings, and cousins than one person could have ever hoped for and dreamed about. All those people are great and wonderful but I am most obsessed with my adorable nieces and handsome nephews. Obsessed. They aren't my children but they're as close I'll come to having my own biological babies and I have immense love and pride for each of them already. 

What does this have to do with something artsy today? This is a painting from my senior year of college, one in a series of self portraits I featured in my portion of our senior exhibit in 2005. I painted this from a picture of me as a child, maybe 3 or 4 years old. This portrait hangs in my mama and daddie's stairwell. On the right is my precious niece, Mia Bella. The picture of her was taken last year. To me, the resemblance is striking. I painted a likeness of this sweet baby over a decade before she was born - before her daddy (my little brother) or I ever even knew about each other. I can only hope that sweet Mia grows up to know auntie Carrie and that we are friends forever, lil mini-me. 🧡 

We are all connected, friends, in ways we don't even realize yet. Be kind. Love each other. Always.