Hypocrisy...

is a term I have been thinking about a lot lately. It is so easy to criticize others for it and so easy to fall into it ourselves. Yesterday I was thinking about it in terms of myself. By my blog and the topics I choose to discuss/promote, I should be extremely family-oriented right? It's related to just about everything I talk about. That is a tall and serious order for me. I want to know that I am keeping in touch with family members and making an effort. All of this is so different on my own than growing up.

My dad is a family guy. He helps his mom all the time and is constantly fixing someone's car - mine, my brother's, my uncle...the list could go on for a while. He has always taught about how important family is and backs it up with the time spent helping in the ways he can. I w

ant to do the same thing, but I can't seem to figure out where I am needed. Do my relatives know I am there for them? There for what? I don't know, wherever I am needed I guess...

I've started doing some little things - hosting Christmas, bringing cake for a party, picking up food for my mother-in-law (we get it from all over directly from farmers) - but I don't seem to have an identity within my family like my dad does. I guess I never realized how long the process of becoming an adult can be. I have positive relationships with the people in my family since a lot of the sibling rivalries having worked themselves out by now, but I have no concept of how or even who to work on staying in touch with. I don't have cousins my age so a lot of us older ones have drifted by now, but I do have further extended family (my dad's cousins' children - does that make them second, third cousins?) that are my age that used to be close who I saw at a graduation open house this weekend.

It's a weird road to travel to put family first and I think there is more than one road to choose. Hopefully I can be content with that and if others see me as a hypocrite because I didn't pick the same road as them, there is nothing I can do. At least I know that when help is needed, I will go and hopefully my family knows I am available.