Sunday, November 29, 2009

family

Earlier this year during a conversation with my mom, she mentioned something to me that I promptly forgot until this past Thursday, American Thanksgiving. She wanted me to think about how I could do a better job of staying in contact with my brother and sister-in-law on my own without her. Meaning, having a relationship with them as well as my sister that could and would continue even after she was no longer here with us. At the time, it seemed like work and I wasn't interested in that kind of relationship-building work.
However this Thanksgiving, my parents were visiting my sister and her family out in the Mid-West, so I knew my brother and his family would not see my parents at all over the holiday weekend. It seemed important to me to make sure my brother and his family knew I was thinking of them even though I was not having the day of celebration with my family here in Ontario. I called and had to leave a message conveying my Thanksgiving wishes to them. The afternoon ended, my husband returned from work, we finished our dinner and were in the midst of our usual evening routine when my brother called back, this time leaving a message while my husband was on the phone. I was pleasantly surprised that he took the time to call and I immediately called him back. The conversation that followed between he and I for the next half hour or more was jam-packed as we moved from one topic to the next. It was wonderful to have so much to discuss and share. It wasn't work at all. In fact, if Baby L had not been in such loud distress we probably could have talked for much longer. I mused over the conversation for the rest of the evening and was still thinking about it the next day. I was so thankful that I had taken the time to call in the first place and realized that my mom was right: I need to keep in better contact with them and not just rely on my mom's updates to keep me in the loop. I am thankful for my family and they need to know I care.

1 comment:

  1. It is hard to keep up with everything we should be doing. I really identify with what you have written here. It can be hard for me to sit down and call people, but I am usually so glad I did.

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