UNITED STATES—Look, we are going to have a blunt conversation here, one that may be difficult to hear, but it is something we need to hear. I have been dealing with a bevy of crisis’s involving family members in the past two months. It feels like as soon as I think things are calming down, something worse hits me and it just wallops me in a way that you never imagine.
Long story short, my oldest sister was hospitalized last week, and it was very serious. She was attacked and it was a rallying of family remembers coming to grips with the reality we could have lost her. Our communication has not been the greatest as of late and it was a harsh reality. We have to stop making excuses as to why we don’t communicate more often. I have a phone, my sister has a phone, my brothers have a phone, my parents have a phone, it doesn’t cost anything to pick up a phone and make a call. It feels so psychologically lazy unfortunately where we just don’t do the things that we should do when it comes to our loved ones.
I know plenty of you want to know the ins and outs of what transpired, but I really cannot get into those details because they are beyond personal and that is not my story to tell. All I can say was it involved spending plenty of time at the police station, little to no sleep for several days and dealing with the legal system.
What transpired just kind of ignited a spark in me as to why I considered heavily being a lawyer at one point in my career because the legal system is supposed to protect you, but sometimes you have to jump through way too many hoops to ensure you get the help needed. I don’t understand, I’ve tried to understand it, but simply put the legal system needs some serious fixes and that is coming from someone who knows some people who are lawyers or aspiring to become lawyers, and all fields of law are slightly different, not to mention family members who are police officers.
I had a conversation with my sister after all the mayhem that unfolded and we realized there is NO EXCUSE for us to not pick up the phone and reach out to one another. It is so much quicker to call someone on the phone than it is to send a text message. The realization hit me we send a text message before making a call and we spend so much time crafting the message that we should simply call and have the conversation be over within a matter of minutes.
You connect easier over the phone when you can, and this is NOT just about picking up the phone and contacting someone, it is about contacting family in general. So many of us get caught up in our own lives we don’t touch base and we only do so when something tragic or devastating strikes the family. Sometimes that is too little too late, so stop making excuses and do the right thing while you can. No one is promised tomorrow and I’m starting to realize that much more than I ever imagined. Time is limited, no one is promised tomorrow and if you think you are you might face that harsh reality when it hit you.
You didn’t do something that you could have done, and the worse part about it is that you had no excuse. The excuse was that you were being lazy. Don’t be lazy take initiative because remember no matter how frustrating family can be at times, you only have one family. Once they’re gone America, they’re gone there is no do over.
