What does ‘Family’ mean? Recently on our GoParents Facebook page, a fellow GoParent posted FAMILY – father and mother, i love you!!  How true is THAT!!

Spending quality time with your own parents makes you reflect how you act as a parent. We grow up in a family and then become the head of our own family unit. We can learn a lot when we have that special time with family and can reflect on what’s important.

I have my parents visiting me in Sydney for 4 weeks. They are nearing their 80’s, but are still physically strong enough to travel and brave the winter cold in NSW.

Though they are still getting used to the cold weather, they braved the chilly winter mornings and helped cleared most of the weeds from my garden, swept the driveways, cooked and baked our favourites. Dad also helped with washing up and emptying the dishwasher every night…WHAT A TREAT!!

We took them out and about and to Wollongong. We introduced them to various cuisines throughout Sydney, and most of all, they managed to catch up with some old friends here. I am hosting a lunch at my place this week and am inviting their friends to come over. It will be a fantastic time for all the friends to catch up after so many years apart.

As I have left home more than 25 years ago, to have my parents here is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with them. My children have the privilege of being spoilt “rotten” by their grandparents, and to taste the unbelievable dishes from my childhood days as my parents are cooking.

These few weeks had been a great time to reconnect. On top of that, a good friend, who knew my parents were here, lent us this DVD series – When We Were Together. So every afternoon, after we have finished all our socialising and cooking, we watch the shows together. We then talk about the good old days, about our relatives and my parent’s childhood.

So cherish your parents; cherish your family. If your parents are still around, cherish them and spend as much quality time with them as you can. Yes, I am very sure we all have our ups and downs in our family; however, if you look at the bigger picture, by the end of the day, you are a FAMILY.

Family is there to support each other and be there for one another. Cherish the good times that you share with each other, and mirror that to your children.

So I have a question for you. What does ‘family’ mean to you? Share your thoughts with us through the blog or Facebook Page…