A couple weekends ago I visited with members of my family for Canadian Thanksgiving. No matter how little time we spend together or share, it’s still family and it’s still special and unique, full of different personalities, different points of view. It’s so fun to see and experience my nieces moving through time, hearing what their latest interests are, discovering the world for themselves. And it’s fun to see my brothers, being no different than they ever were, yet so grown up and “men-like”. And it’s fun to be introducing Franki to the family, allowing them all to discover her and have the experience of her for themselves. I love seeing my father taking Franki for a ride on the 4-wheeler and teaching her to fish. And I love seeing Granny G do Granny G things like only Granny G does. No matter the differences, no matter the “old stories” and the expectations I’ve come to conclude about each and every member of my family, they’re still my family…..and there are so many things to appreciate about each and every one of them. It sometimes can seem easier to just expect your family members to be just as they always have been, and there can be comfort in that. That consistency of them being just the way they have always been offers stability and a sense of knowing what to expect. But what about if you’re annoyed by certain aspects of their personality? What if your old stories about your family members just keep bringing up negative expectations about them? It leaves you feeling helpless if you believe that they need to change for you to feel better. And so why not learn to appreciate them just as they are; not needing them to change; not needing them to be different; completely appreciating them for who they are, what they know, what they’ve decided about life and what they can allow right now, and just let that be ok. Just love them all, every little bit of them, for being who they are now and appreciate that they’ve all contributed to who you’ve become and made your life so much richer than it ever could have been without them.
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