I was asked by my teacher to think about a belief that i have. The first memory that came to mind was at 9 years old when my mother taught me that very valuable lesson on family. My belief is Family Is Everything. I was asked to include one person involved in my belief and to think about two scenes in which my mindset changed on this belief.
Family Is Everything
I was only 9 when my mother taught me the importance of family and making memories with them. I was a young freckled faced little girl who didn’t understand why my mom always wanted us to do things as a family & the many family vacations. I had no cares in the world but to play with my toys with my older sisters & be a kid. I was sitting in that living room with my mother one fall day leaves falling from the trees with the sun beaming through the French doors that led out onto the backyard.
I remember complaining that I did not want to go on a day trip to the zoo with my family. We had been a million times & it was the same as the last time we went. The same animals that were there when I was a baby. Nothing new or exciting. That day my mother taught me a valuable lesson about family. She told me “Family is Everything & one day your dad and I will be gone, and you will only have the memories left that we made.” I sat there for a minute and digested the words my mother had just said to me. She was right.
So that day I went on the day trip to the zoo with my family and had the best day. I held hands with my sisters as we watched the mama & baby monkeys chase each other around the enclosure. Then went to the café for a quick lunch and then off to the park we went. We stayed at the park area for at least 2 hours laughing and playing but most of all making those memories together. Pushing each other on the swings and expressing how fun this day had been.
That day I changed my attitude and no matter where we went as a family, I was grateful to just have them & spend quality time with them. The older I got the more independent I became but I never forgot that sentence. I started to spend more time with friends and do other things, but I still always managed to make time for my family. Random day trips or family vacations I was there.
Life flew by & before I knew it, I wasn't that young freckle-faced girl anymore. I was married & about to have a child of my own. A family of my own to make memories with. That chilly Sunday in February I will never forget because it was the day I brought my son home from the hospital. My parents came over to visit their new grandson for the first time and I once again was reminded of that valuable lesson my mother taught me. As she is holding my redhaired tiny newborn baby she looks up at me & says “Now you get to start making memories for your own little family.” This was the moment I realized what she meant.
That sentence she said to me as that young 9-year-old was finally here. I finally had a family of my own and I knew that I was going to cherish my little family just as much as I did that big family of mine growing up. My parents and sisters have only grown closer over the years and bonded over mine and my sisters children. We all take our kids to the zoo together quite often because I want my children & their cousins to make as many memories as possible together and know the importance of family like my sisters and I do.
I knew I was going to teach my kids that valuable lesson about family just as my mother did. Every chance we get my husband, and I are taking our kids to the park, the zoo and on weekend trips because making those memories are so important to me. I am now a 24-year mom of 3 who is married & have my own family, but I still make time for my parents & siblings every chance I get. Birthday parties, Sunday dinners, every holiday and every chance we get my family, and I are together. Why? Because Family is Everything.