Fam Damily

Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts. -Author Unknown                                           

I think we can all agree on this on some occasions. I know sometimes my family drives me absolutely to drinking and there is no way around that. However, I also know that when I am drunk from them making me drink so much, I can drunk dial them and they will answer. I am fully aware that I do the same to them too. Family is the most important thing, the absolute most important. I work in college athletics and it is a demanding job. It's taken me awhile to draw the line between what is important at work and what needs my attention back home with my family. As my previous blog post showed, we had a death in our family this past week and it has been a rough time for my mom, dad, brother, and me dealing with the loss of a dear friend. I have been home since Tuesday and the work emails, texts, and calls have not stopped. However, I have (for the most part). Reason is because my mom needs her daughter, my brother needs a sister, my dad needs to talk baseball, and my nephew needs his Hilly. (Sidebar: yes, that is what RJ will call me. Hilary is too hard and Aunt is for someone who is 70 plus that you don't know what to call them. Hilly seems like a good fit.) Also, my brother's dog, Cye,currently slobbering on my leg as I type this, needs some TLC. We all know how I have a huge soft spot for doggies. Cye certainly needs some TLC. Since RJ came to town, Cye has been treated less than stellar to say the least. Nothing against Ryon, he is doing the best he can. Okay, back to my original point. This week has really made me realize I need to be more involved with my family. Not that I'm not since I talk to my mom and dad just about everyday on the phone and get all the "news" of the day. Generally, that's how many times RJ bit at daycare or if my mom played golf or bunco that day. But it made me see that there are 5 members of this family that make it a whole and I need to make it complete more often than I do.

This is not to say I don't get angry or irritated at my family. I mean I had to write the directions down 2 different times for my parents on how to watch a DVD and then they still call me when they need to put one on the TV. How irritating is that?!?! And goodness gracious, the amount of stinky mess that is in a diaper should be illegal, but RJ can't be walking about in a diaper full of mess. I'm just saying that my family will be the only thing that is with me my entire life. Friends have come and gone from my life, some have been there with me for awhile, but no one has been with me as long as Renee, Mike, and Ryon. RJ is a great addition to the family. So I encourage you to make your family whole by getting involved more in there lives in a physical sense. We can always blame work, travel time, money, any one of life's excuses. But I can promise you, it is worth every penny or minute of it when you see your nephew giggle so hard from bouncing a deflated volleyball off of your head. I mean the kid fell over laughing so hard. It took me a minute to figure out what he was laughing so hard at. Makes 625 miles round trip and 10 hours in the car all worth it.

To my family, you're welcome. Haha! I mean, thank you for being there for me no matter what. Even you Mom for leaving me at First United Methodist Church in Decatur one week and then the next week forgetting to pick me up. Dad, thanks for Saturday morning donut dates, teaching me how to crack sunflower seeds and showing me to spit them out without losing all the rest, and for always keeping an eye out for jobs in college athletics. Ryon, thanks for teaching me patience. Mom, thanks for letting me vent to you no matter what. These are just a few things out of more than a million but we don't need to go into too much detail...ha! Oh and RJ, thanks for showing me that we all have that inner child in us somewhere that just wants to scream at the top of our lungs for no apparent reason and in the most random places, like the bathtub!

Family bends but those bonds NEVER break! Family gives before it takes. This is what the Sanders family is to me. Make it be about yours too!

Love, peace, and chicken grease,
Hilary