A little over 2 weeks ago, my uncle died. He was my mom’s brother. It has been really hard on our family, especially my mom. But, what hit me the hardest was the realization that the older I get, the more this is going to happen. As a child, deaths and funerals were rare for me and I never got used to the pain and sorrow that comes along with losing loved ones. I suppose that’s a really good thing though – having to lose people when you are young can be much worse. It was a sad day at the memorial, but also a joyful one for many reasons. We got to celebrate the life of my uncle and we were reunited with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc…
I’m realizing that there are a few things that bring full families together – Weddings, Births and Funerals. All three are celebrations of life and occasions to come together with old stories, great memories and rekindled relationships. It is sad that it takes these major acts to keep many families in touch. People seem to be so busy these days that they forget the really important things in life. The really important things in life start with family. It is in the family that our roots take hold and from there we grow to be the person we are meant to become.
I’m very lucky to have the family that I do. We are close, we travel together, live in the same area, spend weekends and holidays together and I now run my father’s original business (A Houston Courier Company, Hot Shot Delivery). As an immediate family, we understand the importance of “family time” and we have a strong family bond. But rarely do we spend time with the extended family. I’d like to see that change.
I was watching television the other night and a line from one of the shows really hit home for me:
“Make a plan, set a goal, work towards it. But every now and then, look around, drink it in. Because, this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow.”
If everything were gone tomorrow, did you spend today doing the things that mean the most? It’s definitely something worth thinking about and possibly changing the way you do some things. I did a little exercise that I thought was pretty helpful. I took a piece of paper and drew a line in the middle of it to make two columns. In the left column, I made a list of the most important things in my life. In the right column, I made a list of the things I spend the most of my time doing. It was very interesting to see how the most important things in my life often took a backseat to the items in the right column.
As I close for the week, I’d like to dedicate this blog to my uncle and his life. I’d also like to send a message to my extended family, I hope that we can set a goal of spending more time together and work towards that goal. Because if it were all gone tomorrow, I would definitely miss those good times.
Should you do the same with your family?
Until Next Time,
Eric
