MzMari3

As I write this, I am getting group messages to pray for my grandaddy as he is about to have eye surgery. I will not get into the details in this blog but this situation has caused me to think about how much I value family.

So I come from a pretty close family. LITERALLY! Sometimes I wonder if my granny is really my mom. JUST KIDDING! As I am heading into 30, I am starting to take family more seriously. I’m not going to lie, I used to think that my family was going to live forever. Simply because of our lifestyles and because I just don’t like death. I know, I know, very dumb of me to assume.

Being young, you just want to have fun and hang out with your friends. After all, you live with your family, you need a break from them. Your view of family is that they are cool, you love them, but you would rather hang with your friends and/or make more money. Well that was especially true for me.

Well this past year, is where it (reality) all hit. This probably should have hit a long time ago but hey, I was young. This past summer, my family started noticing some changes in my granny. We all chalked it up to old age, yada ya. We took her to get checked out, everything seemed fine. We well one day, all was not fine. My granny ended up having to be admitted to the hospital for heart surgery. That was the scariest thing for our whole family. Going to the hospital is a REALLY BIG DEAL for my family. We don’t go to the hospital. We just drink water with a mix of some of “Granny Green Stuff” and we good! Thankfully the surgery went well and she is doing good and is back to herself.

Fast forward to August, I had an aunt to die. Suddenly. One minute celebrating the next not here. That fast. This was just another moment in which I had to take a minute and re-evaluate my stance on family. That was a hard one. I still to this day do not understand this situation. I am still baffled, like it’s not real. The only thing I can say is Jesus has to come soon. All of this suffering in the world, the only way anyone can cope is to believe and depend on Him.

Last month, my dad got into a bad accident. I receive a text from my mom telling me to call her. I call and she gives me the news. Thankfully she says that he called and said he was ok. After a few hours in the hospital getting checked out, he was cleared to go home. After seeing pictures of the car, which was so bad they had to total it out, I could only say,  “But God”! This was another awakening moment for me and my transitioning to appreciating my family more. I could have lost my dad due to somebody not paying attention while driving.

Let’s get back to this week. My grandaddy has been having some vision issues. He is almost blind. He has been battling this issue for a long time. It is hard seeing him having to adjust to limited to no sight. Seeing him having to depend on others is a tough one for me. I’m just not used to it. I’m used to seeing him building things, standing on roofs of houses, driving his Ford truck and playing tricks on the family.

Yesterday he had a surgery to help preserve whatever sight he had left. By the grace of God, he had a check up today and I saw a video of him being able to see figures and light. I am so grateful for that.

I say all this to say that these situations have made me appreciate my family more. I have made it my duty to make sure I make it to as many family functions as possible. I love my family and I know they love me.

I know I might be a little late in the appreciation game but hey I’m there now. Don’t get me wrong, its not that I didn’t appreciate my family, it’s just that I appreciate them even more. I am making it a thing to try to spend more time especially with my family, especially grandparents.

Spend time with your family before it’s too late. Don’t wait until things happen before you decide to appreciate your family. Give your flowers while they can smell them. They can’t see them when they are dead.

-Mz.Mari3

#yearof30

#30for30