Family

So yesterday I was a little verbal about why extended family is still family at the end of the day. I understand that it is a personal view and that not everyone will agree with me, but I think more people agree then disagree.
With that being said, today I need to reflect on the importance of family. And of course, that includes extended family as well.
When you are a teenager you basically believe that your family knows nothing and you hate them all. (mostly) We all come around and realize what family means and how important it is to have them later in life. For most of us this would be once we step into the real world on our own and or college. For me it was both happening at the same time and I truly believe to this day that is why I love my father as I do. He saved me. Brought food to school for me, took me and my room-mate to dinner, checked on me and took me in to his house until he moved.
But what happens if we never get to this point?
I have friends who do not speak to siblings, parents, cousins…ect. And to be honest. It is weird for me. (even though I rarely speak to my mother, but that is a whole other convo for another day) Family is always there for you, even when they really don’t want to be. They pick you up, dust you off, and get you moving again. They baby-sit for free, house sit when you are away, hang around just to watch movies and hangout when you are board. They are always there for you.
But what happens when you push them away… everyday. What happens when you never leave that teenage “I am always right and you don’t know what you are talking about stage”? and what happens when you pull more people into it them should be?
As much as family is ALWAYS there for you, a person can still only take so much. I learned a very valuable lesson from a very smart ex in high school. I was trying to be the “oh so wonderful girlfriend” and make him feel better after a fight with a sibling. He was mad, annoyed and fed up. So being so wonderful of a girlfriend I called her a name. To this day, I will not forget the look he gave me while saying these words, “that is my family, I can be mad, I can call names, because it is my family! You can not! They will always love me, they will always stand behind me, it isn’t their job to do the same for you. And speaking to them or about them like that could ruin that relationship as well as ours”
WOW! He was so amazingly correct. If you have pushed your family away, that is one thing, but when your other half does as well, that is a much different thing. Your family doesn’t HAVE to love them or even like them. And if they don’t, the times you may need them in life, will be come few and far between.
I am lucky, because not only do I have an amazing family and extended family, I also have his family and his friends. And the crazy part is, when we need something, someone is always there for us. Always! And even though they are all family, they are all friend-like to. Birthday parties and family events do not feel like they are at all, because it is fun to be around them.
I think I honestly feel bad for the people that think they don’t need family and push them more and more away. They truly do not understand what family means, and by the time they may realize this, that family will remember how they were treated and may not be there like they could be.
I love my family and extended family. With out all of you, I would be lost. xo