Family Really Does Matter!

Last week, I returned home from a fun-filled family reunion in Mississippi. I visited and met family members from my mother's side of the family who I met for the first time and those who I met over the last decade or so at the funerals of other family members. I figured it was about time to see these folks in a less melancholy atmosphere and connect with family members I've never known.

As my 27th birthday approached and has since passed, family takes a new meaning to me. While I was at the reunion forming new bonds with cousins, I couldn't help but reflect on my relationships with members of my immediate family (especially on my mother's side). My father's family, along with my father, reside in Nigeria. An entire world away. So, I thought about the relationships in my family, especially since my grandmother (Big Mama) passed away in 2005. I saw the love shared between my other family members at this festive event and said to myself: Why don't I see more of this in my immediate family? What's lacking? I thought, "These people are really on to something here!"

I could easily sit here and talk about all the things my immediate family is doing wrong, but I won't. To be honest, it's just too disheartening to do so.

But, I'll tell what you what I will do. I will embrace and nurture the relationship ties I have and just made. I will fight the urge to dwell on what I can't change and focus on what really matters!