Stop Taking Moments For Granted

Yes, we usually take a lot of things for granted from our friends who stick by us through thick and thin, jobs we think are too low for us, good health, wonderful parents who are aging, outdoors activities that make us connect to the nature and promote true self evaluations, community that brought you up, caring bosses that bring the best out of us, security personnel that work tirelessly to ensure you are safe, among others.

How frequent do you express gratitude for the moments in your life. Nothing happens just because, they happen for a reason. Always appreciate, cherish and learn from the moments in your life.

If you have a collected happy family, ensure that you always keep in touch and never take it for granted. Not everyone was brought up enjoying the privilege of a sane family relationship.  Some have missing/ dead moms/dads/siblings, alcoholic parents, abusive parents, hardly enough for survival, endless fights, terminal diseases, just to name a few.

I was having lunch with on e of my friends the other day and she seemed disturbed. I went ahead and asked what was happening to her. She remained silent for a few minute before telling me her situation.

She does not come from a well off family and her success has been a struggle since her young age. She lives in a different city from her hometown. The problem was that she likes spending time with her family but the conditions are always not conducive. Her dad is alcoholic and jobless thus forcing her mum be the sole breadwinner. Her mum managed to give them good education.

Her alcoholic dad is the big problem to both the family and community living with them. He is drunk most of the time and abuses anyone he met on the way. He can tell you anything worst you could think of and this made the neighborhood really hate him. He seems not to be bothered by any of that, he made it his business to get drunk and abuse people. The behavior extended to his home, he could abuse them and cause chaos everyday, destroying property. He could use very mean words to both her mum and siblings.

This has been her home condition for very many years so basically she has never enjoyed sweet family moments like birthdays, thanksgiving, reunions, graduations or even a drama-free day with her family. All she was exposed to was harsh conditions and bad moments.

After graduating from college, she was lucky to get a job in a different city and for once, she could enjoy a drama-free life. Family is a very important  part in life and she missed them despite everything. She ensures that she visits them once in a while and as always, the visits always ended up bitterly.

The last time she visited them, things ended up really badly to a point of being chased away by her dad from their home. He told her to never come back . All this came as a result of her denying him cash for the alcohol. He was very mean and said very bad words to her. She was helpless and had to leave as told. Her visit came to an end and she had to leave.

Her mother called her later and assured her things will be okay someday, she tried to make her feel better and it worked for a while.

She was planning on visiting the family as we shared the lunch and the issue was really pushing her down. It seemed that she was troubled and confused. She had not spoken to his dad since the incidence and was afraid of the outcome when he knew that she was coming home. What will he do this time round? What mean thing will he tell me this time round? But above all things, why does he hates me this much? These are the questions she asked me when i advised her to just wish for the best and go home.

To be sincere, i couldn’t answer her questions or even try to assure her that things will work out. Her family situation was completely messed up and only her who knew how it really felt. As a friend, i promised to be there for her all the way no matter what the outcome. We finished our lunch and i assisted her to pack for her travel.

On my way back to my house, i thought to myself on how we usually take things for granted. How we don’t call our friends and family frequently enough, how we see it to be very normal to have good families that accept us, how we complain of the mummy’s surprise visits, how we think that daddy’s gifting is too much,….If you are getting all the support from your family, consider yourself very lucky and start appreciating each moment with all the magnitude it deserves.

Family is not an important thing. Family is everything.