Beyond Fiction

I was watching a movie today and at the end of it there was a quote that kind of sums up what I’ve been thinking about lately. The quote? “In the old days family meant people in a house together but that was in a language so far back that all its words are gone. A language we can only imagine.” It comes from the movie “Rich In Love”.

You see, I find myself thinking about my family quite often. Even though we have all grown so far apart and, in some cases, even disowned each other, I still wish so often that things could be as they once were. I know that is something I “can only imagine” but I still partake of my little fantasy!

As we grow older some folks say you grow wiser but I have to say that I disagree so much with that. Yes, you do learn a lot from your past mistakes but if we are so much wiser how do we let ourselves get to a place where we are no longer a family? If we are wiser, why can’t we learn to forgive or ask for forgiveness. Of course, when we do ask and receive forgiveness how come it is taken back at a later time? There are still so many answers I can’t find to so many questions!

I think the simplest answer is the one that my wife and I have come up with lately. While discussing our upcoming family reunion we were wondering why reunions aren’t the same as they used to be. Our only answer was that every one is involved in their own families now. Our children grow up and then they have children and then their children have children. Pretty soon it is a full-time job just keeping up with your own children and grandchildren. You don’t really have time to keep up with your nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters. That doesn’t mean you don’t love them and that they don’t love you. It just means that they have their own “circle” of family and they are quite busy in their own little group.

So, with that in mind, I would like to take the time to apologize to all my loved ones who I am not able to stay directly in touch with anymore. It’s not that I don’t love you and never think of you, I am just so busy with my own little family. I want you all to know that I sincerely do love all my family, even those with whom I have had a falling out. Life is too short to not say the words you should.

Here’s hoping that we can all finally realize that we are all such a fortunate group to be related to each other. Don’t underestimate your uncle or aunt or niece or nephew. They may play a bigger role in your life than you could ever imagine!

Have a great day everyone!

Ken