Importance of Family

I alienated my family years ago with my comments and while I do not remember exactly what I said, I know they must have been brutally honest.  I have (or had) a brother and a sister with whom I could never identify.  Their behaviors and beliefs were never shared by me even though we tried many times to understand each other.  Their children are not that fond of me either.

While it is preferred to have a supportive family, it is not absolutely necessary for one to live a normal life with quiet but quality expectations.

It is sad but true that my wife's brother and sister care about me more than my own brother and sister and the age difference does not seem to be much of a problem as it is with my siblings.

Our parents kept us together but now that both of them are deceased there is absolutely no reason why we must continue to act like a happy or relatively happy family.

In the past, it was necessary for families to stay together and not just to harvest crops but for protection as well.  The larger the family the more protection that could be offered...  and the more hands there were when it came time to harvest the crops.

With the advent of the railroad and the motor vehicle, families became more mobile and more children left the comforts of home, to seek out their future in other states.  Sometimes, these states were close by and sometimes they were on the other side of the nation.

The mobility increased with air flight and with private jets, flying from one location to another was just like driving a car there except quicker and someone else did the driving.

Unfortunately, the family unit is no longer important in today's society; in fact, in some instances having a family is a hindrance instead of an asset.  I am speaking of those jobs where one stays away from home, months at a time.

What comes to mind here is the military and 18 wheelers that drive from coast to coast.  But they are not the only ones...  salespeople oftentimes leave home on a Sunday and do not return for a couple of weeks and then only 1-2 days with family before it starts all over again.

Being separated from a spouse and children is not the same as being separated from siblings.

As one gets older, one finally realizes the importance of family and when looking back on one's life, wished it had been done a little differently...  when one finally looks back, it is typically too late.