I am beyond blessed and fortunate to have my family.  Although we have quite a dysfunctional family system I couldn’t ask for a better family.  God blessed me with a mother, father and younger brother.  I am further blessed to have an extremely connected and loving extended family as well.  I have always been surrounded by those that I love and having lived my whole life this way gives me a sense of fear, because I know it will all be gone one day.

With age I am realizing how important family is.  I always knew this, but, my own life experiences have solidified this belief I have.  I realize with each passing day, the importance of letting your family know how much they mean to you.  I now know the importance of thanking your family for always being there no matter what.  I understand that we need to go out of our way to show our family how much we care.  I am aware that any given day, all of my blessings can be taken away without even a warning.

I am so afraid.  Afraid of the day that I will not be able to tell my loved one that I love him/her. Afraid of the day that I won’t be getting those “annoying calls” that I always avoid.  Afraid of the day that I will come home and not have my moms “same old” home cooked meals.  As I write this I am filled with emotion, sadness, and tears are welling up in my eyes because I can just imagine that day.  Knowing this about the future makes me count my blessings today.  I have made a promise to myself that I will not go another day treating my family the way I have in the past.  Going forward, my family is my priority and their happiness is my drive.  What I learned from my family I want to instil in my own family one day.  Until that day comes, I will make it my life’s mission to make sure my family gets everything and more.

I urge you to take some time to be thankful for those around you, your family.  If you are blessed enough to have a family, thank God for this blessing.  Family doesn’t always have to be blood, but, if your family is blood related, do your best no matter what your relationship status is, to show them you care.  Go above and beyond what even you would do for someone.  We only have one life to show those we care about, just how much we care.  So, make the most of your life and treat your family like gold.  One day life will pass and you will never get that chance again.  But, if you’ve lived a life knowing you did your very best to show your loved ones you care, dealing with the inevitable day where everyone is gone, will be that much easier.  Thank you God for your blessings every day, but thank you especially for giving me my family, and making every day worth living that much more.

Time to reflect:

Have you counted your blessings?  Have you done enough and everything possible to make sure your family is happy?  What more can you personally do to make your relationship better with your family?  Is it something really simple like picking up the phone when they call?  Maybe spending one day out of the month having dinner or going out on an adventure?  Whatever it is, are you doing it?  Because my friend, one day that chance will no longer be there.  And when that day comes will you live the rest of your life with regrets or beautiful memories?  Take a moment to reflect and going forward, do more and do good for your family.  

“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything”. ~ Michael J. Fox