When I met my cousins for the first time four years ago, we were on the pebble driveway of our lake house in Northern Michigan. They hopped out of the car, we exchanged greetings and instantly ran into the body of water that lines the front of the house. Since then, our family has been gathering at least once a year at the lake house in the summer, and usually more throughout the year.

Last week was lake week. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and siblings gathered in the very house that was the basis of us rekindling relationships that were somehow lost in the shuffle of life. However, it doesn't even feel like relationships had to be rekindled. It doesn’t feel like I lived twelve years of my life without some of my most treasured family members.

When I’m with my family, I don't think about the amount of time I spent not knowing them. Heck, I don’t even think about the amount of time I have known them. I think about walls that were accidentally punched, locking the whole family out of the garage, and phones that were dropped in the lake. I think about weird nicknames and fishing adventures, and dropping an anchor in the middle of the lake, then only realizing it was gone upon reaching shore.

I guess there is a little life lesson to be learned from the fact that I’ve only really known some of my family for four years, yet it feels like we’ve known each other forever: the amount of time you’ve known someone is somewhat irrelevant. I’ve never really thought about it, but it’s so true.

A couple of my best friends are people I’ve known for not even a year. Over the short time I’ve known them, they’ve proved themselves to be reliable, trustworthy, fun, and respectable, while even people I’ve known for my whole life have proved themselves to be the exact opposite.

So I guess the lesson is to cherish the people who treat you well, even if you haven't known them for as long as people who treat you as less of a priority. Friendship isn't about who you’ve known the longest, it’s about who celebrates your victories with you and stands by you during your losses.

Yay for family, new and old.