Family Ups and Downs

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share a short little blog post about something that we've all experienced at some point in our lives - family challenges.

Have I had any? 

Lol... You jest! 

I have been having family ups and downs since my sister beat me out of the womb by four minutes! 

Is that a bad thing?

It totally depends on your perspective.

It's not fun when you have the 'down' part where there is anger, name-calling, maybe even violence, and in the end, disconnect. This has happened to me on several occasions and I have felt the pain and loneliness that it brings when you disconnect from people that you love.  What is the worst is when you disconnect from those that you still see EVERY DAY. You are constantly in close proximity although emotionally you're miles apart.

I had a chance to connect with my two sisters this past week for the first time in many years. It was due to my nephew's wedding and my wife, daughter, and I was supposed to fly north to Portland and spend a couple of days and witness his wedding. Due to a medical emergency with my daughter's dog, they could not make the trip and so I went alone...

Was it stressful to see my sisters after all this time?

Yes.

Was there some element of thawing?

It appears so.

One of the things I have come to realize is that not only do family members provide some of the best times in life, but they can also provide some of the most challenging. There are SO VERY MANY LESSONS that we can receive through our family interactions all through our life. It doesn't stop when we move away as we can reflect back on our experiences and learn, grow, and evolve from them.

I'd like to think that's what has happened to me concerning my sisters. 

As for them and what they may have learned, I don't know. That's up to them and what they choose to want to take from our experience.

My hope is that there actually was a thawing that will continue as I want to not only continue learning and growing with my family, but I also would love to heal and connect in a way that allows for mutual support as we go through the remainder of our lives.

But, it's not always easy, is it?

I would just offer that we set the intention to learn, grow, be patient with our family, and be willing to forgive whatever they and we could have done and then move on. Learn what we're supposed to, apologize if we need to, and continue on our journey hopefully wiser.

That's my plan anyway.