To whom do you belong? Who claims you, and in turn, who do you claim?
When I was young, there was more a culture of "family" in the USA. I grew up half an hour from grandpa and grandma's and enjoyed monthly get togethers with my MANY cousins. To this day, I treasure my relationships with each of them. I have a large community of support.
My husband grew up across the country from the few extended family members he has. He has very tight family relations, people who would beat the tar out of you for looking at any of them the wrong way. (I love his family.)
As you can imagine, this has made for an interesting mesh of views.
Saturday, we had the opportunity to listen to a man who has researched how to strengthen families. He showed us statistics about the influence parents and siblings have on individuals, and how it diminishes over time. The pattern is that kids who go their own way break free from their parent's patterns between ages 14 and 18.
He also presented a study that was performed by psychologists about the factors that make for well grounded kids--or ones that deal well with the stress and change. The potential answers included:
Can you guess the answer? I was rather shocked.
B. A deep understanding of their family history.
And that's why I ask the question. I guess if you know where you come from and the legacy passed to you from your ancestors, you feel a greater obligation to live up to or be better than them.
Do you know who your ancestors are, and do you have any stories of their lives you cherish?
P.S. Here's an awesome tool for figuring out who you belong to, if you haven't done it already.
When I was young, there was more a culture of "family" in the USA. I grew up half an hour from grandpa and grandma's and enjoyed monthly get togethers with my MANY cousins. To this day, I treasure my relationships with each of them. I have a large community of support.My husband grew up across the country from the few extended family members he has. He has very tight family relations, people who would beat the tar out of you for looking at any of them the wrong way. (I love his family.)
As you can imagine, this has made for an interesting mesh of views.
Saturday, we had the opportunity to listen to a man who has researched how to strengthen families. He showed us statistics about the influence parents and siblings have on individuals, and how it diminishes over time. The pattern is that kids who go their own way break free from their parent's patterns between ages 14 and 18.
He also presented a study that was performed by psychologists about the factors that make for well grounded kids--or ones that deal well with the stress and change. The potential answers included:
- A. Eating breakfast together as a family every morning
- B. A deep understanding of their family history
- C. Regularly attending religious services
Can you guess the answer? I was rather shocked.
B. A deep understanding of their family history.
And that's why I ask the question. I guess if you know where you come from and the legacy passed to you from your ancestors, you feel a greater obligation to live up to or be better than them.
Do you know who your ancestors are, and do you have any stories of their lives you cherish?
P.S. Here's an awesome tool for figuring out who you belong to, if you haven't done it already.
