If you are fortunate like we are, we enjoy our pack. Over the holidays we had multiple opportunities to spend time with family and friends. And in all the cases we had fun reminiscing about family stories, adventures, funny situations and retelling the same highlights over and over again. It’s one of those things family do when they get together. They retell the family tales and laugh at the same things again and again. I think we do that to remind ourselves that we have common ground even when we live so far apart. We tell the stories to remember our past adventures and seed our minds for future ones. It’s kind of like warming everyone up so that this new visit has stability upon which to build.
Not all packs get along. Not everyone has a good time when they get together with family. Sometimes we simply have to endure all that family means. Every ‘pack’ has it’s own dynamic, mores, rules and guidelines. There are topics they avoid – politics and religion – and some memories are better forgotten. There are the annoying relatives, the family gossips, the pesky out of town relatives, and the adored aunt or uncle. Every family has the member who shows up late or never shows at all; the relatives who annoy the minute they arrive and the ones we like better once they have left the room. It’s all part of the package. We are related by blood and may have nothing in common other than a couple points of DNA.
The key is to enjoy the family you have and understand all that they are – the good, the bad, the ugly, and the annoying. The slobbery kisses and the armpit hugs, the wrong size gifts and the hideous family heirlooms being handed down as a tradition. These people love and adore us no matter who we are becoming. They take us for who we are and allow us to become right before their eyes. They support us and remind us that we have important things in our future…even if those important things mean we do not always cross paths with family as often as we want.
The holidays are over and the family events slowly trickle away. The times we get to spend with the ones we love becomes a bit more rare and distant. Instead of only spending time with family over the holidays, why not set a date to get together just to get together. You can tell the old stories or grill the new boyfriend while enjoying the time together. You can have dinner for no other reason than to be together, holiday or not. Our family is the foundation of who we are and we need to remember that beyond the holidays. Even the times we endure help us understand ourselves better. Sometimes our pack helps us learn about ourselves, and sometimes they remind us of what we never want to become. Somewhere in between those two ends of the spectrum lies the real truth. So enjoy your pack whatever it is, spend time with them and learn what you need to know to become the best version of yourself.
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