Microstory 324: Family Support

This is an experimental Stepwisdom microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 300. More to follow.

I don’t think I have to tell you how important family is, so what’s the point of spending 324 words on it? Why, because I committed to this series, and I’m gonna see it through. That word family is thrown around a whole lot, and this so often bothers me. Many believe themselves to be indebted to people they are related to just because of their connection. They say that you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family. But that’s not how it works. A family is a stronger bond than friendship, but is built just the same. You choose who you consider to be part of your family, and who you don’t. I’m not going to get into specifics, but there are people I’m related to who are decidedly not my family. You can’t run around, doing whatever you want, and expect people to stick with you. Likewise, if you have a family member partaking in behavior you find offensive, cut them off...at least after spending a sufficient amount of effort trying to help them. Do not fall into the trap of unconditional love. All love has, and should have, conditions. My family has the right, and in some cases an obligation, to disown me if I become a rapist, a serial killer, or hell, even a republican. I would not deserve their respect if I turned into, or turned out to be, a monster. I certainly wouldn’t deserve their love. Mistakes are one thing, but clear and obvious bad choices are an entirely different animal. It’s ironic that people use the idiom blood is thicker than water in the completely wrong way. The original phrase was something more like the blood of the battle is thicker than the water of the womb. Your true family is composed of people you love, and fight with. Never take your family for granted, and always protect them...but only when they deserve it.