Family Relationships

On a recent trip to Europe, we had a few days in London, and on the morning we flew to Dublin, we hailed a cab to take us to Gatwick Airport.  It was a cold and beautiful sunny morning in London, and our cabby was very chatty.  He talked about his upcoming 70th birthday party which was going to be celebrated at a local pub, with family and friends.  In conversation he mentioned the loss of his wife a few years before, and how this impacted his life.  He spoke very lovingly about his relationships with his adult sons and his two teenage grandsons.  Clearly he enjoyed these relationships.

In the background he had music playing by Lionel Richie via his smart phone, and he would choose different photos from the album on his phone, and keep these images for a few minutes each, before changing to another.  Many were of a young bride and groom, and from the fashion they were wearing, it appeared these were taken in the 60’s.  Other photos were of a young family at different life stages, celebrations and other significant times in their lives.

He was reminiscing, looking back, and I was doing some of my own thinking.  Family is important, and so are the relationships we have with these significant people in our lives.  We invest so much of ourselves in these relationships, and especially with our children, investment needs to start very early.  We are a society getting used to quick returns on the investments we make.  However, some investments do not pay off until much later.  Our cabby was being sustained by the investments of unconditional love, care, compassion, commitment, and being positively present in the lives of those he was entrusted with.  In this late stage of his life he is not only enjoying this sustenance, but being appreciated, loved and enjoyed for the man, brother, husband, father and grand father he is.

As we bid him farewell at the airport, and wished him a very blessed birthday celebration, this experience reinforced for me the importance of the relationships we have with those significant others in our lives.  Whether we are lucky enough to reach and move through the final stages of our lives, or not, our relationships are the only investments we make during our lifetime, which can truly provide us with a sense of meaning that life is worthwhile.  The rest; careers, jobs, money, material possessions becomes a byproduct.  When we say the final goodbye, we want to be surrounded and embraced by those we loved and loved us; whether they are physically present or the memory of them are kept in our heart space.

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