my chosen family has taught me that this joy i longed to experience through them and communing, was buried deep in my soul, and i had to do the work to uncover it, to heal the wounds that layered on top of it, and like a hand waiting at the bottom of the well to be pulled up, salvaged. they have taught me that my joy had to be salvaged, and then, at all costs, and by any means necessary, protected. even if that protection comes at the cost of upsetting biological family.