Today, where I live, it is Family Day. In the past, this has meant absolutely nothing to me. It was just another day, and I usually worked. This year, I’ll admit, I’m still a bit indifferent to it and it still holds no big meaning. Let me explain a bit more why that is.
my family
For the most part, I’m not extremely close with my family. My mom and I talk a lot, and try to stay in touch as much as possible. My sister and I are somewhat close, and working on getting closer. My brother and I get along, but we don’t chat a lot. I would like to change that, but sometimes life just gets in the way, or we find we do not have a lot to talk about. As for extended family like cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents – I’m not close with them. Nobody’s fault. We live different lifestyles, hectic lives, and I work a lot of holidays so I miss gatherings. This being said, I love my family dearly and if anyone messed with them, I would have their backs.
do i wish things were different
Of course. Like I said, I love my family. I wish I had more opportunities to spend time with them and I wish we had a few more things in common. In some ways, I guess, I’m a bit of a black sheep. Not in a bad way, I just have trouble connecting with them on a deeper level. Most of the women in my family love, what I call, girly things. They do their hair and makeup, love shopping and chick-flick movies. Around Christmas they love Hallmark movies. Not bad things, but none of these things I enjoy. So, like I said, it’s hard to connect with them sometimes. And I’ve never been particularly close with the men in my family either. So yeah, I wish we had more to connect on.
working on family relationships
As I mentioned earlier, my sister and I are trying to build a closer relationship. We actually have plans to hang out today, which is pretty awesome. She has the day off, I only work the night shift, so we are making the most of it. What I really love is that when we spoke yesterday, we had a chance to encourage each other in our dreams. She opened up to me about some things because I have done my best to always be there for her. Now, she’s doing the same for me. She knows I’m struggling with money, but is insisting on taking me out for breakfast. Then we are just going to hang out. If the weather suits us, we will go for a walk. She is going to bring her swimsuit as well so we can relax in the hot tub.
moving forward
As I move forward in life, I really want this year to be about growth. This is in all areas of my life. I want to grow in my walk with God, at work, in relationships and so much more. One of the areas I really hope to see a lot of growth is my writing. My dream of publishing my first book this year is still in high hopes and I will work my butt off to accomplish that goal. I want to grow in fitness and health. When it comes to family, I want to try and be a bit more active in their lives. This will look like being more involved in the family group chat, getting together with family, and making more of an effort to show up for things. I won’t get it perfect, but I want to put in the effort.
What about you?
Are you close with your family? If not, would you like that to change? Some people have to put up boundaries because their families are toxic to them. There are abusive families, which breaks my heart to hear. If you come from that kind of family, I am so sorry and I pray that you find a replacement family. This could look like a group of friends that are closer to you and have your back. Maybe you have a boss who takes an actual interest in your life. If you go to church you can build a church family. These are all things I have implemented in my life as well. My closest friends are like sisters. My boss is like a second mom. I had a great church family in Southland, but I’m still working on building at Calvary. Don’t lose hope. Anything can happen, if we try.
