part 6/10
family


Family: friends by obligation.

We don't really have much of a choice as to who are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers are do we? Of course, our parents don't really have much of a choice as to who we are--as much as we are raised by our moms and pops, we're raised by our environments--something only under marginal control of those everpresent parentals. As little control as we have over our families, I find it kind of heartening that the family unit, very generally speaking, seems to work.

It's pretty cool isn't it? You'd think that sticking a handful of people together would end up in disaster, but the family, the problems a family faces, and the goals a family strives to achieve serve to form funny little bonds. Surprisingly strong funny little bonds.

I love my family. I do. But when I wonder why, I'm at a loss for words. They've always been there. My feelings for them were never earned, but assumed.

What it comes down to is responsibility. One of the very first burdens we assume as we are born into this world is our immediate dedication and relation with our families. Quid pro quo, as some would put it. They give to us and we give back. A certain special form of love drives a mother to suffer through gestation. Moreover, it takes a special kind of unit to support that woman through 9 months of ardour. And we find in that immediate investment that we are indebted to our families in ways we can never actually pay back.

Quid pro quo.