Replies to 'The Meaning of "Family"'

While I love my husband very much too and we're each others priority , we're also individuals with additional  roles and responsibilities.  Without question, both of us support each other in all our relationships and would be there for our children or parent... that's part of making each other a priority.  When our daughter had open-heart surgery, we both were there... she wanted me to stay with her during her recovery phase & I did.  My husband wouldn't have had it any other way and her husband was also relieved to have me there.  When my husband was on a business trip & had a heart attack... our daughter flew home immediately to travel with me to be with him... her idea, not mine.  And when my mother was dying, my husband not only understood that I was going back home to take care of her during her last few weeks of life...  he made the trip with me (his plan was to get a flight back home, so I would have the car -  then fly back to be with me when she died). I could have gone alone and gotten a rental car while I was there, but he was making me a priority.  As it turned out, it wasn't necessary, since she took an unexpected turn for the worse & barely lived long enough for me to arrive.  And neither of us would ever refuse to have a parent live with us, if they didn't have a home of their own.  But isn't that what family is all about? To live our own lives, but also be mature and loving enough to be there for others in times of need?  So who comes first?  It's a compromise... sometimes you, sometimes your significant other.  

While I love my husband very much too and we're each others priority , we're also individuals with additional  roles and responsibilities.  Without question, both of us support each other in all our relationships and would be there for our children or parent... that's part of making each other a priority.  When our daughter had open-heart surgery, we both were there... she wanted me to stay with her during her recovery phase & I did.  My husband wouldn't have had it any other way and her husband was also relieved to have me there.  When my husband was on a business trip & had a heart attack... our daughter flew home immediately to travel with me to be with him... her idea, not mine.  And when my mother was dying, my husband not only understood that I was going back home to take care of her during her last few weeks of life...  he made the trip with me (his plan was to get a flight back home, so I would have the car -  then fly back to be with me when she died). I could have gone alone and gotten a rental car while I was there, but he was making me a priority.  As it turned out, it wasn't necessary, since she took an unexpected turn for the worse & barely lived long enough for me to arrive.  And neither of us would ever refuse to have a parent live with us, if they didn't have a home of their own.  But isn't that what family is all about? To live our own lives, but also be mature and loving enough to be there for others in times of need?  So who comes first?  It's a compromise... sometimes you, sometimes your significant other.  

While I love my husband very much too and we're each others priority , we're also individuals with additional  roles and responsibilities.  Without question, both of us support each other in all our relationships and would be there for our children or parent... that's part of making each other a priority.  When our daughter had open-heart surgery, we both were there... she wanted me to stay with her during her recovery phase & I did.  My husband wouldn't have had it any other way and her husband was also relieved to have me there.  When my husband was on a business trip & had a heart attack... our daughter flew home immediately to travel with me to be with him... her idea, not mine.  And when my mother was dying, my husband not only understood that I was going back home to take care of her during her last few weeks of life...  he made the trip with me (his plan was to get a flight back home, so I would have the car -  then fly back to be with me when she died). I could have gone alone and gotten a rental car while I was there, but he was making me a priority.  As it turned out, it wasn't necessary, since she took an unexpected turn for the worse & barely lived long enough for me to arrive.  And neither of us would ever refuse to have a parent live with us, if they didn't have a home of their own.  But isn't that what family is all about? To live our own lives, but also be mature and loving enough to be there for others in times of need?  So who comes first?  It's a compromise... sometimes you, sometimes your significant other.