My parents are traveling; thus, I have been arriving to a
lonely house. The silence was welcomed
the first week, but I miss their cheerfulness throughout the house. I miss arriving to their warm welcome, our happy
meals together and Sunday afternoon porchin’ in our front lawn. Even my dog gets a bit of separation anxiety
when left just with me as a companion (smile) and our family bird doesn’t sing
his usual afternoon symphony… In a book,
Pope Francis, wrote for children he states that one of the most beautiful
things God made was the family.
Sometimes I think because I have been spoiled with such a close knit
bunch that I have set my standards high for marriage. Then again, my parents are going to celebrate
their 50th wedding anniversary this year! Even so, I was raised with rich family values
and the Sacrament of Marriage initiating all families – that is until I reached
high school and started forming friends outside my barrio that I realized that
what I had was truly special. In my
culture parental responsibility and support didn’t come with an eighteen
birthdate expiration date. Grandparents
were never placed in nursing homes no matter how needy they became. There was this unspoken law that parents took
care of the children until the children could take care of them, thus everyone
from the youngest to the oldest member remained clan until death. Even in death, we continued to ask for their
intercession because we knew that we were familia
forever.
When I got to high school I had friends who didn’t get along
with their siblings and people whose families were scattered across the
states. Suddenly it was cool to be the
type of “Married with Children” family, an antithesis to the loving family
view. In the media, I saw this movement
from family to friends. It was no longer
about having a great family, but more about having great friends. The many romantic comedies I saw during these
years told me that I had to get a kicking profession and after hours party with
my friends. I created this dream in my
mind that I had to become a professional so that after a long day at the office
I could grab a cab, like in “Sex in the City,” to a bar or club where I would
join my friends in daring escapades.
Yes, developmentally speaking there are times in our lives when our
peers gain more importance than our families, but the messages I was getting
and still get is that singleness is the dream and family is but a stuffy
reality; at times described as a ball and chain. Maybe shows like “The Cosby Show” were
equally deceiving, but at least it taught us to aim high.
Today, more than ever I think we need to celebrate the beauty
of family. The reason I opened a
Facebook account was because I wanted to see the pictures of my friend’s
children as they grow up. Though to our modern culture and even commercially the family might be a hindrance or too serious a
subject - to me, my little clan has been my saving grace. They have been there for me in only ways that
people who share your blood can. My mom
was intimidated by my education because she thought that with formal schooling I
would be ashamed of her, or even worse no longer need her. She had the courage to share her fear, at
which I said, “Mom, I will never be too old or too anything to not need
you.” Children no matter how old we get,
we are always our parent’s kids. My dad
retired recently and when he visits his mom who is ninety-plus-years-old he
still behaves like her little boy.
Though he now takes care and provides for her, he still needs his momma. Perhaps, I am spoiled because God gave me a
great family one that I just couldn’t live without- they are the ones that I
can’t wait to share my joys and when I stumble the ones that carry me forth. We are in no way perfect, believe me we all
have our weaknesses and moments when we can’t stand each other, but we were
raised with the biblical tradition that family is one of the greatest gifts from God. And when
something is a special gift it has to be enjoyed, treasured and if need be
protected. Pope Francis is right, one of
the greatest gifts God gave us is family and that’s why we Christians put such
a strong battle to fight for this treasure God endowed us with because great societies stem from the microorganism known as familia.
No comments:
Post a Comment