On Being Grateful…..

From the time I was born I was an old soul. I came out of the womb kvetching about everything because even then I wanted to be the boss of all things. I must admit there are times when I am right about certain faux pas, and then there are some days when I am just being fussy and a tad miserable.

The point is, as long as my requests are being heard, acknowledged and dealt with in a timely manner it is all good in my world. Many people will misconstrue my rantings and ravings or displeasure with being mean spirited but I am not that frivolous.

Most of the times I am grateful when my affairs are handled in a professional and timely manner. My family believes when I kvetch I am not satisfied with anything they do for me and I am just a colicky baby who goes on incessantly about nothing.

The truth is, their indifference contributes to my fussy nature. If they would only pay attention to what really matters to me they would realize I am not the enemy and that most of the times I just want to be heard and understood.

Despite my tirades and periods of theatrics, deep down I take notice of all the little things they do and the sacrifices they make and I am grateful.

There are many people in the world who feel the same way I do about my family. Many of them will laugh and smile through all the dysfunctionality waiting for their grand escape.

Once given the chance to break away they never look back and actually forget that despite their family’s wackiness, and inability to be “normal” they helped to make them the people they grew up to be.

Through the chaos our families nurture us, counsel us, and educate us not for selfish reasons but so we can get on in the world and be productive human beings. However, when some of us reach where we are going, we shed all ties with the past forgetting about gratitude.

A great sum of us do not come from perfect families but if it were not for their intercessions at times we would have faltered. Our families give us the bearings to be ourselves, they are the frame of reference which keeps us true to our natures regardless if they are “normal” or “dysfunctional”.

I crush a lot, kvetch a lot and make a hullabaloo about a great many things but, at the end of the day I am grateful to the people who have graced my life in positive and helpful ways.

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