Summer is a great time for family gatherings. I’m hearing all about it from friends through email and Face Book. Many are on the way to parents’ or siblings’ homes to enjoy a week with family. I’ve always loved time spent with my family. I’ve also spent over twenty years working in a variety of roles through which I have helped families develop and maintain a high level of “wellness” and enjoyment of times together. It’s very exciting to see our adult children and grandchildren following those same paths in a wide variety of ways.
We just had a great week here with thirteen of us having fun together. Adult work commitments and grandchildren with important team events had us moving in and out of our time together, along with a few side trips to share Texas landmarks like the Alamo and Cowboys’ Stadium with Kansas family. But it left time for meals together and heated games of Scrabble, Scattergories, backyard “smiley ball,” and cheering for a grandson’s baseball team at a World Series. Now everyone has returned to their homes and routines and I have been deep in thought and prayers of thanksgiving about our family and how proud I am of each one of them and how well we relate to each other. For lack of no other good way to describe my pride, I have resorted to the alphabet to share what impresses me when we are all together or apart.
F – We’re FRIENDS. Our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren are our friends, and they are all friends to each other. We enjoy (and often laugh at) our similarities and rise above our differences. We live our lives apart now, but have both respect and patience with each other, which strengthen healthy relationships in families that last forever.
A – AWARENESS through modern technology allows our family members to stay in touch with each other. We’re in touch through emails, texts, social networks, and it has developed into an intergenerational connection involving grandchildren. All families should make this an important part of their lives so, as they gather for special times together, there are familiarity and AWARENESS to build on and no one is “out of the loop.”
M – MEMORIES are valued. There’s no need for flashy activities and lavish experiences. Our family has established simple, important traditions and grandchildren now demonstrate they value them with an expectation to include them in our activities each time we’re together. (Hide and Go Seek or Flashlight Tag anyone?) We build MEMORIES by including all ages in the plans and activities for our family gatherings.
I – We find each other INTERESTING. I, personally, believe this is an important ingredient of family wellness. We have always had an interest in our children’s lives and respect our children’s interest in each other and their families and careers. And, I am so proud of the way the grandchildren are demonstrating the same interest in each other, regardless of age.
L – LOVING is easy to talk about in a family. It’s a natural expectation among a group linked together as a family. But LIKING each other is a whole different emotional level among adults and children, and I’m always proud as I watch our family respect, accept, tease, and laugh together as they LOVE and LIKE each other and enjoy being together.
Y – YOUNG and not-so-YOUNG have fun together. This year our family gathering included celebration of our youngest grandchild’s first birthday. Several grandchildren will celebrate important birthdays in the coming year – one will move to his final “single digit” birthday, one will become a teenager, one will turn five and prepare for kindergarten -- and some adults will move toward milestones…well, we can skip too much detail there. But when we’re together age is not an issue. Oldest, youngest, and everyone in between have a great time together, whatever we do and wherever we are. Why? How? We’re FAMILY!
Terri Clamons, author
Corporate Prince, ebook at amazon.com and The Kindle Store
Corporate Prince, ebook at amazon.com and The Kindle Store
The Toy Room, ebook and paperback at amazon.com, ebook at The Kindle Store
WELLFAMILIES HANDBOOK, published in 1990, is available on my page at amazon.com.
Visit my website at http://www.terriclamons.com and
My blog at http://blogbyterri.blogspot.com
