#SQLFAMILY

#sqlfamily

It started feeling real on Monday night of #sqlpass week.  It was at a very late dinner with @airbornegeek and my co-workers; we were sitting at The Tap House when all of the sudden (you know at nearly midnight) walked in a large group of my favorite people in the #sqlcommunity.  I walked over to say HI to all these “strangers” I had never met in person, there were hugs and laughs and OMG! Everywhere.  I walked back to our table and said “Guys MY FAMILY is here, we have to go sit with them!” they replied with “we are going to the hotel and to bed”.  I followed up with “OKAY I am going to sit with my family.”  This really did happen, I might not remember the exact words but I do remember declaring that my family had arrived and I needed to go.  J

Later in the week I got married, right you say … but no really I did.  I got married to the most amazing person I have ever met, one who “gets me” the one who challenges me and the one who loves me.  What’s funny is that we had no reservations about getting married at #sqlpass, these were our people.  These were the people who understood us the most.  Weddings are about family and we got married in front of the family we choose to be a part of, the family that gets it and the one we most wanted to be around for such a special occasion.  We have the BEST signatures ever on our marriage license – (@datachick) Karen Lopez and (@MladenPrajdic) Mladen Prajdic with a full audience of #sqlfamily.  I am currently onboarding new people where I work, when I tell them this story they are so excited.  One lady said “that is really cool – you got married where you needed to be.”  I love this family! Who is ready for PASSiverssary?

The last realization that #sqlfamily was really my family came this Sunday night while sitting on the couch in front of the fire with the dogs.  @airbornegeek was explaining the mememonday being about #sqlfamily when all of the sudden I realized that we spent a whole week surrounded by people, busy every moment of every day and in crowded spaces without me totally freaking out and without him needing a few days to decompress.  See what I have learned about the real nerds is that they don’t deal well with being over stimulated.  Kerry and I have spent several days in the past being busy and surrounded by people without melting down but we generally end up withdrawing from society for several days at the Osburn Hideway.  This trip to #sqlpass did not have that impact. We loved every minute of spending time with our #sqlfamily and there was no medication involved.

So not only is this community more like family, it is a family that I am HONORED and PROUD to be a part of.  It is the stress free family that I don’t have to explain myself to.  The family that is always happy to see me and the family that is willing to help me to figure out where I went wrong without placing blame or telling me I am stupid.

I <3 YOU GUYS!!!!

It’s Meme Monday. This is Tom LaRock’s (blog | @SQLRockstar) brainchild. Its idea is to spur all of us to write something. So, here I wrote  about this month’s topic and I think you should too.