it has been said that the most important time is family time. I have been so lucky to have spent 2 weeks on vacation in New Jersey with my family. Every year when we go back to visit my brother, sister, and her children, we all stay at my parents house.
That's a lot of people (and towels) in one place and it is a blast! Of course there are disagreements, (usually in the kitchen...you know the saying, too many cooks spoil the broth) sometimes drama, but mostly good times. These are the times that shape us into who we are. While enjoying each others company, I am constantly reminded to make virtue a necessity.
Virtues, or gifts of character, play a very big part in extended time together. Patience, flexibility, tolerance, respect and charity are just a few qualities that are put to the test on a daily basis. Patience is the first one that comes to mind. Whether it is waiting to take a shower or biting your tongue so as not to start an argument. Being flexible if the plans change, and they will! Practicing tolerance after repeatedly asking the kids to hang up the wet towels yet they still end up on the floor. Respecting someone else's home, space and feelings is always a high on the virtuous list. Then, there is charity.
Charity encompasses so many facets that affect family life. Probably the most important definition of charity is the unlimited love towards others or agape. Loving our families unselfishly through the good times and the bad. Perhaps even taking that a step further and forgiving the bad as well. Charity also covers compassion for judging others. I am reminded that it is imperative to have an understanding of others actions and viewpoints without being challenging and insulting. Families also fill us with benevolence. While I am on vacation at my parents home I not only feel like I want to demonstrate acts of kindness, but that everybody does.
It is in the acts of kindness that we are easily reminded what we are most gracious for. I am so lucky that my sister, Kerri and her family had the opportunity to fly to Seattle and continue our family fun together. I have been discussing, A Year of Magical Giving, with her, noting that while I have tried to give back I have not been as successful as I would have liked. I bought Trader Joe's gift cards for a family asking for money in the parking lot, however they were gone by the time I finished shopping. I signed up to bring food for the Friends of Youth, a local charity, however, someone else had purchased the food already. It is with Kerri's kind words she reminded me that by opening my house up for her family, she has experienced my giving.
I know first hand her feeling of graciousness having just left my mom and dad's home. My parents and siblings give endlessly, not only when I am there but all year long. It is the cooking, shopping, cleaning up, keeping up the pool so everybody can swim. It is a shoulder to cry on, it is someone to laugh with, it is heartfelt understanding and compassion. It is the ability to be yourself and know that you are still loved. It is the beauty of charity.
FAMILIES ARE LIKE FUDGE, MOSTLY SWEET WITH A FEW NUTS
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