Recently I was shaken loose from my dad’s family tree and treated unfairly by people I called relatives. This got me thinking of the true meaning of the word “family”.
In the beginning I was raised by my mom’s side, since my dad skipped out on us when I was a fetus. As a child, teenager and young adult I never knew him or his family. It didn’t really matter, I had a loving mom, uncle and grandparents that did everything for me. Fast Forward 21 years. I was mad at my mom and decided I wanted to get in touch with my dad. He flew out to California immediately and we hit it off right away. He was engaged to a woman in Miami and they were getting ready to have a son. I kept in touch with him through the years and enjoyed the time we had. It wasn’t until my 30′s that I got in touch with the rest of his family and honestly, I’ve never felt comfortable around them, or thought they even liked me. A few years later my father passed away and we all flew to Miami for his service. It seemed as if his death brought us closer together, for a while anyways.
Recently I got a call from my dad’s sister, she told me that their father had passed away. I was sad of course and really wanted to be at the service where I could mourn with my family. At the time the plans for the funeral were not final, but she assured me that she would get back to me with the information. Sometime between the conversation with my aunt, and the funeral (the date of which I found on Google), my cousin, who’s Wiccan, referenced The Wiccan Rede in a Facebook post. Here’s a summary of what she said: “What goes around comes around, stop pretending to care about my family”…blah…blah…blah. Along with a few others, I asked her what was wrong and while the other well wishers got responses, I was getting the silent treatment. I tried to call every member of my dad’s family and not a single answer for days. Armed with my grandfather’s funeral announcement from Google, I went, paid my respects and kept my distance. To say that I felt uncomfortable and unwelcome would be an understatement, but I made it through. By the time I got home I found my cousin had deleted me as a friend and blocked me from sending her messages. Today I still don’t know what the hell happened or what I did wrong. All I can think is, how do you treat family like this?
My cousin is right about one thing, what goes around comes around. Karma really is a Bitch.
My question is: Who do you consider family?
In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re blood related. Family can be anyone from blood relatives to an old high school buddy or someone you may have met online; what makes them family is unconditional love.
Thanks for listening to my rant! Well wishes to you all and have a great day!
Lisa
I've always thought that I had two families: Family by blood, and Family by choice. Some of my blood family is in my family by choice, but not always.
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but respect and joy in each others life. Most family members see you as somebody that owes them something, what is the game they want you to play. Don't fall into that trap, it will only leave feeling sorry for yourself, this to is not a family for.Richard
You were a fetus? Eww! J/k. That's an interesting post. After my mothers death I had no relatives left and since then I have always treated my friends as my family. Interesting lives we all lead.
LOL! It sure is. I do as well. I have friends that are so dear to me, I don't know what I would do without them. They make me smile on a daily basis.
I agree!