Family

I've seen a lot of the love in my extended family lately and it makes me feel so darned good.  As I've said, I learned about strong family bonds from the family I married into and it makes me so happy to see how that has filtered down through the younger generations.  All of my children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren have strong ties to the whole family and most are friends with each other.  How wonderful!

Now here is something I probably haven't mentioned before.  My good friends become like family to me just by being good friends.  The people I keep in my life are all decent, kind, and loving people and they mean the world to me but a few bad apples have been pushed aside for my emotional wellbeing.  I don't believe we have to engage with people we don't trust even if they are family members.

When I see my grandchildren being good friends with my nieces and nephews, it makes me feel as though I've been partly instrumental in having a hand in future generations.  These people will almost certainly teach their children that life is better if you have good interaction with your extended family.

My mother hated her 2 sisters so that's what I saw growing up.  Not everyone can be lucky enough to marry into a loving family but we can all start one.  Had it not been for my in-laws, I'm not sure I would have known how to build a loving family on my own...thank heavens I got some good teachers who came right along with my husband.

The way to having a great family is to be loving, kind, tactful, and to bring the extended family together at every opportunity.  Some actions are deal breakers, though, and we just have to live with it by keeping our distance with some people.

We also have to be tolerant to a point.  Not everyone has the same values or lifestyles but diversity is interesting...as long as it doesn't hurt.  As of today, I exist in a little bubble of good family and friends who make my days worth living.