A retro article from: November 23, 2015
Times have really changed since the days of my own youth. When I consider my own rebellion against my parents, I remember staying out a half an hour beyond my curfew or not answering my page in five minutes. My mother had been a stickler for the rules and for checking-in. At the time, I’m sure I had resented it but much later in life, I’d seen that Mama had simply wanted to be sure I had been safe.
Mama had done the same with all of my siblings; granted the girls a bit more so than the boys. But my brothers often complained about Mama’s grilling of them as well. Mama had many reasons for the way she’d treated us as young people. She had wanted us to be safe of course but also, she’d wanted us to be responsible. We’d been representative of her family and she wanted us to act in public with pride and respect. And she’d wanted us to know that she had eyes everywhere so if we acted inappropriately, she’d know.
It hadn’t been about Mama per say, it had been about us… about family and the family name. Times, today, seem different. We had been required to actually call Mama – so she could hear the background noise I’m sure. Today, people text and there isn’t any background noise in a text.
In public, people walk in front of you in the store without so much as an “excuse me;” showing that respect is all but dead. It’s as if people don’t have respect for even themselves let alone others as illustrated by the simple things they do in public.
Today, too, people seem to be out for their five minutes of fame; no matter how outrageous or vicious. Today, it seems to be all about one person and not the world. And while times do change, I think that people today are missing a very important point.
Times today are moving so fast. Things change so quickly; what’s popular today is passé tomorrow. But you know, there is something that isn’t so rapidly changing… isn’t so about personal appearance… isn’t all about fame and popularity… isn’t about violence or exaggeration. It is, however, about comradery, about being supported, about roots and inner strength, about acceptance and having someone watching your back and caring. It’s about having a foundation, about always having somewhere to go when the world gets crazy. It’s about knowing you can count on people when the world tosses you aside.
It’s called family. And it’s not flashy. It may not make you famous. It might not like what you do but will always love who you are. Even if there is no one there in person, your family’s strengths pulse through your veins at every moment so you know you can get through anything with generations behind you!
So often, we take family for granted, gripe about them, have our opinions about our family members, and so forth. But the thing is, family is the entity which keeps you grounded when the world starts spinning too fast. And instead of taking them for granted, we should appreciate them with our whole hearts!