Five Things

Melisa from The Lil Bee posted my five things... the five hings I would like to do in my lifetime. Here were my five...

1. Have my family and my husband's family all together for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas at our house.
2. Own and know how to use an SLR camera to document our lives.
3. Travel to a new country at least once every 2 years.
4. Finish my Masters degree.
5. Learn Spanish well enough to be comfortable in conversation.

I was pregnant with little Eva at the time, but I had no idea how different my life would be post-baby. Reading those five things again after meeting little Eva, has made me think really hard about family and how it could be better.

#1 is even more important to me now. I want Eva to know and be close with her family. My own family is the polar opposite of close. I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen or talked to any of my extended family in the last 10 years. It is very sad. So in an effort to get closer to #1, here is my five things to do now to make family a priority.

1. Make those calls and plan visits.
   Call my family, Micheal's included. Plan time to get together and make sure it happens.
2. Make family a priority.
   Put family time before other things. Appreciate the family that we are close with and make the bonds that we have stronger.
3. Remember that family deserves tolerance and acceptance.
   Many of the relationships in my family have deteriorated over personality conflicts and lifestyle choices. You don't have to like to love.
   
4. Family and friends are not the same.
   Friends have different criteria than family. You choose your friends and your friends choose you. Friends come and go - they can always be unchoosen. Family is for always.
   
5. Put the family in your home first.
   Making a habit of putting family first starts in your own home. It should set an example.

I have been terrible at all of these things. If I ever I expect to get #1 then I need to make changes to myself first. Thanks Melisa for choosing my five and the kick-in-the-butt reminder.