Compliments of Stuart Harding via Flickr

“You don’t understand the concept of a family! To you it’s something you put up with on national holidays! Love is a gift Alex, not an obligation.” Fools Rush In

Achievement, awards, accolades, and peer recognition cloud our minds in the formative years of establishing our careers. A headlong gallop into more, better, bigger, and faster appears to be our primary focus. The fleeting notoriety we accumulate exists on a different plane from that which endures long past material possessions.

Familial ties are what hearken us to the truly significant. Relatives comprise the essential unit that is irreplaceable (and finite), one that we may not appreciate until we see its dissolution. Family is what we long to grasp forever, but whose grip (over time) for us proves elusive. When it’s gone is when regrets no longer count, when we wish we could have done anything to turn back the clock.

We’re continually caught up in day to day crises that command our immediate attention – creating impassable valleys forged by neglect and a lack of face time. Family should be our primary focus – and not simply a passing diversion that we attend to on birthdays and special occasions.

Individuals aging past their prime will not be with us forever. Making choices – and assessing necessary changes – places what should be our number one priority front and center. Unless you’re clairvoyant, once people have left they’re unreachable.

And you’re left with memories, all of which are perhaps distant and disconnected because you were too busy chasing the brass ring making a name for yourself, and for what purpose? Despite her vast wealth, two of Sarah Winchester’s most prized possessions in life were a lock of her daughter’s hair, and a letter from her husband. Planning your career finale (which excludes those most precious) amounts to organization ineptly achieved. You don’t have an indefinite time frame – and the finality of what could occur when you least expect it invariably looms.

Love your family. Their time with you is limited.