How Important is Family to you?

[yads]

I think it also becomes a lot more important when you start having a family of your own. My wife really misses the fact that her parents aren't able to see our daughter as often as they could because they live in another city.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Komskies

At least your family members live within the same division!

LOL last summer I put a Flames flag in my suitcase when I went for a visit. At his lakehouse I put the Flames flag on the flag pole beside his American flag. The next day he got calls from friends on the lake calling him a traitor asking why he suddenly became a Flames fan

[Yeah_Baby]

You can choose your friends. But you can't choose your family.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Extremely important to me. I see the folks at least once a week if not more. I still like going home just to watch tv with my mom. she likes the same shows that I do for the most part. I always watch Portugal soccer games with my dad. Me and my brother are best friends and will be best man at each other's weddings.

Family way more important than anything else.

[Redliner]

Family is more important to me than anything else, but that doesn't mean they would prevent me from taking advantage of life opportunities that would take me away from them. My parents and siblings have always been in Alberta, but I lived in France for 2 1/2 years. I missed them very much, but would do it again in a heatbeat. When my wife and I were first married we lived in Montreal, but moved back to Alberta when we were ready to start our own family. Now I live in 5 minutes away from my parents and I only talk to them 2-3 times a week, but I know they are there if we need them, and the same applies for them. Now with them getting older and needing more help, and with our kids wanting to be close to grandma & grandpa, I doubt we will ever move anywhere that is more than a day's drive away.

[habernac]

Family is very important. I hate that my older brother lives in Manitoba. We haven't lived in the same city for more than 20 years now, I feel like I don't know him now.

My parents live here for the most part (they travel south for most of the winter now) and my sis lives here so it is nice to see my nephews and my niece all the time. We don't talk daily but usually have a nice Sunday brunch together.

[Sainters7]

I may have different views on it when I have a family of my own(aka when I'm a dad/husband), but it's not terribly important to me right now. I always kinda hung out in my room alot when I was at home growing up. Not that I don't love them, I just enjoy my alone time. We weren't an overly tight family either, which was probably part of it(that and the fact that I'm the total oddball of the family. I was always kinda quiet, laid back and practical whereas the rest of em are loud and emotional). I think I'd enjoy it alot more if I had more in common with my family. We just have totally different interests and views so its hard to relate.

I will say this though. I didn't realize how important family was until I moved away a few years ago where I knew nobody. I couldn't wait until they came out for Christmas, I couldn't believe how much I missed them.

[rubecube]

Hard to say. I moved to Victoria last year, and I'm enjoying it, but I do miss my family. My mom and sister live in Calgary, and my dad lives in Tennessee. I talk to my dad usually 2 or 3 times per week, and usually for about an hour each time (well I don't really talk, just listen to him ramble).

It's funny because I miss my mom more but I talk to her less than I talk to my dad. That being said, I've always felt obligated to look after my dad. He's starting to get up there in age (63 in February) and he doesn't eat properly or take care of himself, so I'm preparing for the inevitable moment where I have to go down there and drag him back up to Canada so he can afford to take care of his health.

[PYroMaNiaC]

Family comes before everything. When your family has been traumatized by a seemingly endless amount of loss, you hold each member precious.

My sister is my best friend. Despite (or maybe because) the large age gap between us, she gets me. I can share anything with her and she loves me anyway, no matter what. She can push my buttons when she wants, but her boundless humour and frank honesty make her more special to me than all the travels or wonders in the world.

I live in the same yard as my parents. I work with my Mom. Their support while I had some difficult stuff in my life was immeasurable. My Mom totally understands the goals at work and works like me to get there. We're an awesome team. My Dad makes me smile every day. I sometimes look up tractor stuff on the computer and you'd think I'd hung the moon for him. It's a good feeling. Granted, there are times when some distance would be nice, but those moments are fleeting in the overall picture of love and support.

My brother, his wife, and my adorable nephew and niece complete the picture of immediate family. I make it my personal goal to be the favorite auntie. Most of the time, I'm successful. My brother and I don't see eye to eye on most things, but what makes it great is that is doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, I can count on him and he on me.

I also surround myself with more distant relatives. My uncles live down the road from me in either direction. I have two great aunts that live just miles away, who have shown me how important family and community is, as they have been born and raised in this area. They make me get involved, get to know my neighbors, volunteer at the community hall. I have cousins, more aunts and uncles, all near by. I also have my grandmother who recently moved here and who is having an eye opening experience at just how much love there is here and how connected we are to one another.

We wonder why no one calls the police, when everyone turns away from something happening in our neighborhoods. We wonder why our kids are disconnected from their history, their elders and how they can be so lazy, self-absorbed, and lacking in respect. We engage in the rat race of our free will and then hate it, we rage against our governement, we cry over the important values that have gotten lost in the generations.

But it starts with family and the compassion, empathy and love that family brings and gives to each other. It grows from there to community, and then expands to encompass even more.

I love to travel, and it's important to me to be successful at work but there really is no place like home.

[Resolute 14]

Yes and no. My father died when I was three, and looking back on it, I don't think my mother ever recovered. She had to work damn hard just to keep my sister and I out of poverty - something I will always be grateful for - but I pretty much grew up on my own. My sister and I are complete polar opposite personalities, so there isn't much commonality. I would do anything for either of them, but honestly, visiting is often more of a chore than anything.

Ultimately though, that has defined what I want for the future. More than anything else, I want to raise a family someday. I missed out on a lot, and wish that I could experience it vicariously through my own children.

[evilcougar]

Everything 4x4 said. This is why we only hang out with each other. I see my family only when i have to. I did make a random stop in last weekend because my roomates dad suddenly died of an aneurism and i felt the need to stop in and give my dad a hug, but, as for everyone else...meh.
I can definitely say that if i lived somewhere that wasn't Calgary i wouldn't miss them to much. Every year i look forward to the end of may because no one in my family has a birthday in the months of june july august and sept. So the only thing we have to do in those months is a fathers day thing and we get the summer off. We are perfectly ok with that and literally celebrate that every single year.
Of course we also get the "i had to pull out a picture of you the other day to remind myself what you looked like" every so often, but, then we remind them in return that hell month (october) is coming.

[Machiavelli]

Family is incredibly important to me but I'm glad I don't have to see them every day.

It is kind of hard to leave my baby brother though (he's only 7). The other siblings I'm satisfied with talking to over the phone and seeing whenever I get a chance to go back to Winnipeg.

Same thing with my parents....I talk to them most every day so I don't feel like I miss them all that much.

[Suzles]

My father died when I was 7 - my mother, who I adored, died two years ago. I have no other family. Now all I am left with is regrets that I didn't spend more time with my Mum. I remember when I was much younger doing the internal groan when I knew I had to visit or phone. You never think when you are younger that your parents won't be around for ever. It's really tough when they are gone.

[JohnnyB]

I come from a very small family. Parents both effectively only children with regards to my lifetime and no extended family living anywhere near us growing up. I grew up with all the family living within a few blocks and saw my grandparents regularly throughout my childhood and until I moved away for university. At the same time, I'm the child of an immigrant family. My parents and grandparents left their home country to go to Canada, and I've since left Canada to find my way in the world. I am back in Canada every chance I get, and although I am not always so great at keeping in touch my family is still the most important thing to me. There is no question for me about dropping things overseas in order to go back to Canada if needed by my family.

Now, living in China and having married into a Chinese family I realize that my wife and I are going to face some tough choices in future for where we're going to settle, as our families will almost certainly be living in different countries. I suppose that is the nature of my family. My parents, brother and myself live in three different cities now, none of them being the city where my brother and I grew up. My brother still makes regular trips to spend time with the family though, and I would too if they were 14 hours of flying away from me. I think everyone in my family has a very strong sense of its importance, but at the same time we are a travelling lot and value experiencing the world too.