Relationships Part 1: Family

This picture makes me laugh almost every time I see it. These beautiful young ladies are my two older sisters. Both are married, so sorry fellas. Kasey is the eldest of us four kids and is the one doing the dirtying. Kelly is the second oldest and is the one being dirtied upon. This was at my high school graduation party last year. It's interesting to look back and see where everyone was in there life back then and see how much they have changed and they way my family has changed. But first a brief history. Mom and Dad met and got married. Kasey was born in San Diego, California. Kelly was next in Washington D.C. about 7 years later. Next came me in Cape May, New Jersey about 3 years later. Lastly came Jonathan, also in Cape May New Jersey, about 2 years later. So we're all pretty close in age except for Kasey. We moved around a lot due to my Dad's job, being an officer in the Coast Guard for about 25-30 years, can't quite remember. Because we moved around a lot it made our family extremely close. We all made friends whenever we went but they were never as close as we were to each other. And that is still true today; to a point but that will be covered in Part 2 when I write it tomorrow. We, like any other loving family, do have our arguments and fights but they never last so long that we never stop talking to each other; I have friends where this has happened, where they don't talk to certain members of their families because of a fight in the past or something like that. But we can always have fun together. Always. It's extremely rare for all 6 of us to be together in one place though. We all live in different places, living in the different lives we have so it's a big deal when us 6 can get together.

Well, this weekend I hung out with my two sisters and my mom a lot. When I'm home I always hang out with Jonathan so that's nothing special. But it was awesome to be around my two oldest sisters together, especially now because one has a beautiful daughter who is the funniest and cutest baby I have ever seen. Yeah, call me biased, whatever. If you saw what she did you would agree, you know it. Anyways, my sisters and my mom wanted to go see Evenings, that new chick flick about sisters and their dying/crazy mother (i didn't like it at all, don't see it. Only went cuz they wanted too and it was free for me). But before we did that we had some lunch and my niece was getting fussy because she was tired. So I put on some music, happened to be Dave Matthews Band, held my niece and started to sing/dance with her. Not only that my other two sisters started dancing too and then my mom joined in and we had this awesome Dave Matthews dance party, kinda. It was one of the most fun times I've had all summer...it was hilarious and we were all just laughing and having a good time. My niece gave a few smiles as well.

The point of this story is that in this age family is not taken at seriously as it should, nor is it valued like it should be. 60% of marriages end in divorce. Kids are beaten, harassed, and molested by their parents and/or siblings. Families are broken up and torn apart. Siblings hate each other. Family members kill each other over money, sex, drama, you name it, it happens. Just watch the news, you'll see it. It's disgusting. It's awful. I hate it. I love my family to the ends of the earth and can't imagine living in any other kind. I use to regret what my family has been through, moving around a lot and more, but now I'm actually glad. Glad because every single one of us is close to the other, there for one another, and we love one another. Something you don't see in this world too often. I have several friends who hate their families, or feel like their family hates them or dislikes them or whatever, and that just makes me want them to have the kind of family I have. I mean there are tons of loving families who are close to one another and love each other but there are more families who do not. I just wish people took Jesus more seriously when he said honor your Mother and Father, and love your brother and sister. We were created for relationships; first and foremost relationship with God. Secondly relationships with each other, from our family to our friends. So I encourage to have fun with your family, to get to know them if you don't, and to love them, the kind of love that shows.