Why does it usually take a tragedy for people to visit family? I am sure this is not the case for everyone but I am sure this is true for at least 50% of people.
Unfortunately, I am one of those people in the 50% area. When we used to live in Delaware we would visit my parents and grandparents every other month if not once a month. Once we moved to MD three years ago we visit my parents and grandparents every 3-4 months. Part of the reason is the 1.5 – 2 hour car ride from MD to Southern NJ. Shaun and Shae are not built for long car rides which really makes me think twice before we take a road trip. The other part is laziness on my behalf. I hate driving and the thought of a 2 hour ride to NJ and a 2 hour ride to MD all in one day is just too much to bear sometimes.
On Saturday I got a call from my mother that my father was in the hospital because he had some tightening in his chest. After I spoke to my mother Melinda and I planned to take a road trip with the kids to the hospital in Abington, PA on Sunday. Why was this road trip any different from all of the others and why did we decide to take one in less than two minutes? It was the tragedy of the situation. Even though not life threatening it could turn life threatening any time and I wanted to see my father just in case something went wrong.
As I am writing this post I am realizing that I have been selfish for the last three years. Because we live far from relatives we do not visit as often unless something serious happens. I need to make it a point to visit family because I want to and because I want them to spend some time with my kids.
Do you tend to visit family after tragedy or do you visit family more often?
