Scrolling through Facebook the other day, I happened upon a video, its message a simple but often overlooked truth. “No matter how poor you think you are, if you have a family, you have everything.”
In a time when long marriages are few and far between, I’m happy to say that I’ve had the joy and pleasure of sharing my life for almost four decades with my best buddy, my greatest love, my warrior, my champion. Together we have raised four incredible kids, and been blessed with six amazing grandchildren.
But our family doesn’t begin and end there. From siblings and in-laws to nieces, nephews and cousins, we have been supported by a crazy, loving brood of uniquely interesting people. An opportunity to celebrate these bonds seems perfect, particularly in the funk of winter.
This weekend or next, depending on where they live in Canada, people will be enjoying the first long weekend of the year — a time to gather with the folks who know them best and love them anyway. Family Day, celebrating the importance of these special relationships, is a public holiday in provinces across the country, providing us with an extra day away from work to share in games and activities, or simply to just be, together.
It’s always been a rather haphazard event for our group. With many working strange shifts, we’ve come to expect that everyone won’t be able to make it for the festivities. But family is family, in whole or in part, so we definitely do our best to make the most of the time together, regardless of the configuration.
As for the aforementioned festivities, they tend to be random too. After a few years of keeping it simple with Family Day suppers, our older daughter latched on to the idea of hosting an annual fish fry. It was such a success, however, that it was decided to open it up to include friends and acquaintances. Since that would increase the numbers significantly, it also made more sense for the date to be changed to sometime in the balmy summer when it could be enjoyed out of doors.
To replace it, we agreed upon a sledding party, which was great fun. However, that fell flat the following year when there was no snow upon which to glide down the slopes. Our fall-back then became a games day, a riotously memorable time.
Taking all of these past years into consideration, looking out the window at the thick carpet of fluffy snowflakes, acknowledging our competitive nature as well as our ever-present pleasure in good food, we’ve agreed this year to combine the successes of previous Family Days into one. There will be sledding, games and a tasty meal.
Most important, of course, is the reality of enjoying all of it together. Life can be so incredibly busy that we often lose sight of what’s most important. While this materialistic world can often confuse our values, once surrounded by family we remember that we really do have all we need right there.
From the Vital Imagery Ltd. family we invite you to enjoy these clipart collections in honour of the upcoming celebration:
