Families Aren't Forever

So this post is going to be a little different than my normal ones. I have been fighting an urge to write this, and well, I lost. Since October, I have been to 4 Funerals. 2 in the past month. Add that to the 2 that I couldn't attend because they weren't in Spokane, and it would seem like my family is dropping like flies. With that said, I can't wrap my head around why certain members of my family (yes this includes the ones I have gained through marriage too) are acting like children.
 

The dictionary defines family as "A group of people who are related to each other". Sounds pretty simple right? Wrong. To me, family means much more than that. It means the people that you would invite over to stay at your house if they needed it, or the person that would show up if you called at one in morning to say that you needed a ride home from the bar. To me, family is much more than just blood now. As I have seen from my "family", blood apparently doesn't mean anything. Now, before you get offended, this isn't directed at my entire family as I previously stated. However, if you feel it is about you, maybe you should think about that tiny voice in your head telling you that this is.
 

To be apart of my family, you not only have to put up with my crap, but I have to put up with yours. And some days, I know, it is hard. But the thing is, we still love each other. This is why it confuses me when certain people are just down right awful to their children or siblings, or even their parents. I know that  I wasn't the best to my Mom, hell, some days we wanted to kill each other, but if I could have had one more day with her, I would have given anything.
 

The thing is, time is running out folks. I have seen my Dad and Grandpa almost everyday this past week just to hang out. Grandpa loves to talk to me about his coins, and I love hearing about them. Why? Well, to be honest, they give him joy. And it gives me joy to know that he has someone besides my Dad and my Husband to talk to about them. Listening to the stories about his childhood has also made me realize that a month ago, I couldn't have told you that he was a cook for the Air Guard. But now I can. It isn't hard to pick up the phone and ask people how their day was or to invite them over. And cutting your brother or your daughters out of your life because you want to be stubborn is not the way to go about living. Just ask my family how well that worked out.
 

I hope this gets to the right people and that it sinks in. If maybe it makes you think, even for a second, then my job was done.