|
The one thing I think most of us take for granted is our Families.
We assume that our Husbands, Wives, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and our Sisters and Brothers, Aunts, and Uncles, will always be there but, as we all find out sooner or later, that is not always the case.
We forget that time has a way of catching up with us and fate is not always kind. I have written a few articles on what family means to me and how important spending time with your loved ones are since we do not know how long they will be with us. There are many circumstances that can change that we have no control over. Sometimes it is death, or just a child spreading his or her wings and leaving the nest to start their own lives. You may not always see eye to eye with a sibling but it is wonderful if you can somehow find a happy medium and co-exist and continue to keep in touch even if distance separates you. Weekly phone calls help me keep in touch with my siblings since they live in New York and we have lived in Florida for the past twelve years.
Our children are grown and married with families of their own but since we have always been a very tight knit family, we make it a point to have our weekly or bi-weekly family get togethers. We enjoy being with them and especially the grandchildren since as we know from experience, they will eventually find that their friends are far more interesting and exciting than we are.
I am very fortunate to have a special relationship with my grandchildren since I am unable to work due to complications of my Fibromyalgia. Which once was a source of pain and disappointment since I have always been very active and worked, I have chosen to turn into a positive thing, by being able to spend more quality time with my grandson and granddaughter on a regular basis. I already see that my grandson, who will be ten, at the end of this month, enjoys spending time with us, but is very active in sports and of course school and his friends so we laugh how we literally have to make an appointment to see him. We still try to make time for our special one on one time together by arranging time for sleepovers and then finding a movie that we will both enjoy. My granddaughter on the other hand, will only be three this December and since her Mommy works alternating from two or three days a week, I watch her and we have our special time together when my daughter is working. My daughter and I have always had a special bond and I feel really blessed that I can help her with our granddaugter so that she has peace of mind when she works and I get the pleasure of enjoying how our granddaughter grows, and it totally amazes me how much she learns and has such a zest for life, something I think we lose as adults and need to recapture in order to find happiness and not dwell on the stress and disappointments that we all experience as we face the world and all the responsibilites that go with being an adult.
I hate the fact that most families drift apart because of what I call, little rifts and disagreements, I have tried to work things out with my family and talk to them and encourage them to do the same, if for some reason I have hurt their feelings or stepped out of bond regarding a certain situation. Most of the time, with talking things out, we can see each other's point of view and learn from our experiences and try harder the next time not to make the same mistakes. Believe me, it is very hard for a parent to let their children live their own lives and not interfere since we always want to protect them and try to give them the benefit of our knowledge and the life lesssons we have learned from our own experiences, but they in turn, have to learn their life lessons by themselves and learn from their own mistakes. I treat my children with respect and follow their rules concerning how they are raising their children. I raised two great kids and I know they will in turn do the same. I think that is why I get along with them, because they know that I will follow whatever instructions they give me concerning the children but at the same time, the granchildren also know Grandma and Grandpa's rules and follow them when they are staying with us.
My son, even appologized to me for being what he thought was a difficult child while he was growing up because believe me, what goes around, comes around and our grandson is giving our son a run for his money, so he knows just how difficult and sometimes frustrating being a parent can be.
Our family gatherings are always bitter sweet. We remember how we once had even the great-grandma's around and during this past year, we lost both of them and miss them very much. Our children were used to being around family, something we encouraged through out their lives and in turn it is a natural turn of events for them. No family gathering will go without including Aunts and Uncles as well for we feel the more the merrier.
My husband and I are blessed that for now, our children and grandchildren live close to us but we are also painfully aware of the fact that they might not always live driving distance to us and that is why we cherish our time together now, and hopefully will instill that tradition in our grandchildren so that they also know how important being a family is, so that even if they move out of state, that physically the distance might be a challange but emotionally it won't be, and we will continue our close relationship even if it is only by phone on a weekly basis.
I find that keeping the family close, strengthens the ties so that as a family unit, you can support one another and try to get through any crisis that might come along the way. Believe me, our family has had it's share during the past year but we have gotten through some of the bad stuff by being able to share and express our feelings and by supporting each other. I truly feel blessed that we have each other and hope that our family will continue to grow and pass down the tradition of the importance of Family.
Iris S. Taub |
tweet this!