We all are born into a family but the definition of family can be different to everyone.
I am incredibly blessed with the fact that my parents are my best friends. I’ve mentioned this before, but I am an only child and growing up meant that they were the only ones that I had at all times. I wished forever that I had siblings but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Since I was younger I built such a close relationship with them and to this day I cherish their friendship. It was one of my biggest fears when going to college (I cried for days leading up to it) and especially when I moved away from home to Minneapolis. I was petrified that our relationship was going to change and was just so sad that I wasn’t going to see them every day. What we decided to do was make sure we have trips planned to see each other, text every day, and try to call each other once a week. My parents understand that I am busy living my life and making a name for myself but I do realize how important it is for us to maintain our strong relationship.
Since my parents now live in Florida and I’m in New York we try to plan trips where we can see each other. I go down to Florida around 3-4 times a year and then my parents come up to visit me maybe 1-2 times? My dad is often up here every quarter for his board meetings but it doesn’t mean that I get to see him every time he is here. It definitely is not as frequent as we would like but when I’m down in Florida or they are up visiting me we make sure the time is well spent. When I’m in Florida I barely am on my phone just because I want to make sure I am spending quality time with my parents (and relaxing!). When I’m with my mom, we love shopping, going out to lunch, getting our nails done, going for a walk, and all the other girly things! It is what we both love to do and love to do it together. On the flip side, when I’m with my dad it is mostly outside, playing golf, going for a walk, and most importantly watching sports. I am a huge sports fan and I thank my dad for that one. It is something that he is so passionate about and is something that I love to do together!
All in all, family are the crazy people that you get to do life with. They are the people that drive you nuts from time to time but you have to realize that it is completely normal because HELLO we all have different personality types. As I’ve gotten older I try to bite my tongue even more to avoid a conflict or disagreement. It just isn’t worth it in the little amount of time that we have with one another. I’ll leave it with one of my favorite quotes, “we may not have it all together, but together, we have it all.”
Do you get to spend time with your family?
Thanks for reading Elle’s Edit. If you have any topics that you would like for me to discuss, feel free to email me at elizabeth.lane.dooley@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you! xo
