Family: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em

Christmas pictures with my little brother (C.J.) and little sister (Rachael).

Since the dawn of time, there have been families. How long you stay with your family depends on your species. There are animals who never know their parents and have to strike out on their own, to others who stay with their families for life. Humans seem to have variations of these times. Some of us never get to know our parents, some of us stay with them for only a little while, some of us stay with them until adulthood, some of us stay past adulthood, and some of us stay even longer than that. Although we are able to live without our biological families, for at least the starting period of our life we need that  close group of people. Like with people who are adopted. They don't have their biological family, but they have a group of people showing them the world and helping them to learn about and explore it.

Can't live without 'em:
Families help us grow up and explore the world. They create a safe, educational, and compassionate environment in which we can grow up. They help us develop physically, mentally, and socially. Physically by showing us how to do things like eat, walk, go up stairs, run, etc. Mentally, they teach us how to speak and think. They read us stories and give us puzzles to strengthen our quickly developing minds. They also teach us how to function in the social world. By telling us what to do in certain situations and reprimanding us if we don't act well in others, they show us how to act in our society. They prepare us to have lives of our own with our own friends and relationships.

Can't live with 'em:
FAMILY CAN GET REALLY ANNOYING. When you have to live with a group of people, you see it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And the really ugly. You get to know the little things about them, like disgusting habits, weird rituals, and all around odd behavior. There are also the fights. Long road trips, sharing, or just being in the same room for too long can start an argument. You might not even know what you were arguing about the next day!

It is said that you always have to love your family, but you don't always have to like them. This is so true! Yet, it is all worth it. This is because these people will help and care for you throughout life (and if they don't they look bad). But seriously, be glad to have a family and you will realize that, in the end, they do more good than harm.

Image courtesy of My Repurposed Life