Granny is gone!
It's been a while since I hollered at ya'll. Chyyy... this summer has been so busy. Ya girl been getting healthy, minding her business, and living her life.
My husband and I took a couples family trip to Jamaica this summer. It was a lot of fun. It was his first international trip and we're already planning for Summer 2023. We also took a domestic family vacation with my in-laws. Hence the subject matter of today's blog....FAMILY.
My husband is the epitome of a family man. Every single thing he does revolves around what we call the Wells Foundation. He loves family. We see my in-laws quite often and it's always a party when we're with them. They are pretty close knit even though they may have a few disagreements here and there. I told my husband a couple days ago that I can't remember the last time I saw my family. Well, yes I can, it was at my cousin's baby shower. I did see a few family members there. But prior to that, was it Thanksgiving 2021? Or someone's funeral? Probably someone's funeral. Smh.
Statistics show that one in four Americans have a close family member they haven't seen in 10 years. That's crazy af isn't it?! In today's busy-busy world, catching up with formally close-knit and extended family can be difficult. I understand that but apart of me knows from experience that we do what we WANT to do. Am I wrong about that? I know that we have lives and that we're grown and that we have families of our own to raise now... but I still want my kids to know their cousins like I grew up knowing mine. It saddens me that they don't truly know their kin. Granny's house paid a pivotal part in our upbringing. We would all congregate there and just exist.
Granny is gone. She is no more and she left us without knowing how to carry on with the tradition and understanding the importance of family togetherness. Honestly, it feels like if I see em, I see em. If I don't, I don't. But why is that? Family reunions are a thing of the past. Holidays are a hit and miss. I mean there are 365 days in a year. Why can't we choose one? A weekend? But I promise that if I died today, they'll all be there at my funeral. Crying, screaming, in devastation. Speaking highly of me as I lay lifeless. Body just a shell. Soul gone. Technology has us spoiled. Why see me in person when you can just face-time me, right? Tuh.
I commend the families that are keeping their families together by doing more than just attending funerals. I see the posts from their cousin trips and their annual family trips. Kids everywhere and my classmates now in our late 30s, 40s, and even early 50s acting as our granny's did. It's dope. I encourage you to continue with those traditions. They're important. Rashika Campbell and her family don't miss a beat. The English/Skinner Family...chyyy it be a million of them. And the Mayrants.. they always doing something together. My friend Drea and her family get together every single Sunday for Sunday dinner. I've been telling her how impressed I am at that for a while now. I admire that so much. Keep it going. Don't stop.
All I'm tying to say is life is but a vapor. Both of my biological parents have gone on and I don't have any grandparents left on either side. All that's left is a few uncles and aunts. The older generation is gone and we have to find a way to form a greater connection with each other. Our kids need it. Their going to need to know each other. We never know when they're gonna need someone once we're gone. We just never know. It's time to do better. But honestly I feel like I'm preaching to the choir and no one is listening.