v26.0: Family Ties - 15

Morning folks,

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Remember that old Television show "Family Ties" with Michael J. Fox?  I remember asking my parents to stay up a little bit later on a school night so I could watch it.  It is one of the earliest "sitcom" television shows that I can remember; along with "Growing Pains".  What did these early "sitcom" shows have in common?  They taught us that every family has their issues and problems but by sticking together we can work through anything together.  This, my friends, is why blood is thicker than water.

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For a lot of us, we place great stock in family.  Some people dedicate their entire lives to family by choosing to have children and raising their children to maturity and then assisting their children with their own children.  You see, parenting never stops until the day you die.  You will always have something to teach your child regardless of how old he or she is.  My mother, to this day, still provides sound advice, words of wisdom and years of experience.  She likes to say, "trust me, I've been there" a lot which has more truth to it than she realizes.

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There is a saying: "those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them".  This is true when you have children.  Your child is just an extension of yourself.  That little baby/toddler/kid/teenager/adult is quite literally a piece of you and as such, has all your strengths and weaknesses.  If you grew up having money problems and scraping to get by, your child will most likely pick that up from you as well; especially if they were around to watch you scrape by.  My parents had a hard time at first.  They had two children, an old drafty house (which they owned) and hardly enough income to put food on the table; though we always had more than enough to eat.  They made it work and as time passed they got better at it.  Then they had a third child, bought a brand new home and life was looking up.

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I do not recall a single time where my parents sat me down and taught me the value of a dollar.  I remember getting an allowance every week when I finished my chores and I remember bolting down to the corner store and blowing the entire thing on candy and junk food.  I remember that sinking feeling once I realized my money was all gone and the words of my parents ringing in my ears about how I shouldn't have spent it all in the same place.  Seriously though, how many places did they think I could spend $2 a week?

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I remember having a bank account when I was a child, but I don't recall ever being taught the value of saving money; all I remember is my money would disappear and I would never see it again.  I didn't realize it was being put into an account where it would gain interest thereby making more money for myself.

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As a parent I realize how difficult it was for my parents.  Thankfully I have them to help me along through the hard times when things are tight and there doesn't appear to be any hope in sight.  Thankfully I have family all around me to visit (cough) and keeping in contact.  After all, we have a tie that binds us all and it can be traced back through the generations of the family trees.  Like a tree, our family has branched out in many directions and every single twig of that branch is important, regardless of how insignificant it seems; and like a tree, it is made strong at the core where the family comes together.

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Of course I've said all this to define one phrase: blood is thicker than water.  When I gave my challenge on Friday I expected to have a bunch of things to go research and define but there was only one comment so I've decided to write an entire musing about it.  It basically means that the relationships we build with our family members is far stronger (thicker) than those we make with others.  Of course this is an old saying and with the way society has shifted, some people actually feel closer to their friends than their family.  A lot of kids are growing up without families which again, does not fit within the phrase.  Times are changing and if you have the option to touch base and get close with your family I highly recommend it; there is nothing stronger.

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Well folks, my boss from New York is in town today so I need to run and get some work done.  I've already caught up on the weekend barrage of emails so I'm ahead of the game somewhat.  Hope everyone has a great day.

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Cheers,
Al