This past weekend I spent Labor Day with my father's side of the family. A ritual has begun and we call it the Jackson Family Summer Games. The second bi-annual competition took place in my aunt's backyard and was just as wholesome as the name sounds.
I was welcomed by smiling, familiar faces, some of which I hadn't seen in over a year. I would like to blame distance and time constraints on this fact, but that's not the truth. Life is hectic and we all have our own stuff going on. My family doesn't have to meet on every holiday. We don't force or try to squeeze in our time together. As odd as it may seem, as an adult I have come to fully appreciate this about my clan. We laugh and do really cheesy things together (like things you would see on a Hallmark movie) and no distance of time diminishes it. Quality versus quantity is a belief I have fully absorbed in the past year and a half. Monotony is never a word used to describe the Jackson gatherings. I attribute this to the value we put on our time together and emphasis we place on the quality of those moments.
Now don't get me wrong. I would love to see these humans more often than I do. They're funny and smart and carry so many unique traits. Traits that remind me 'oh, you're not the only weirdo who thinks that's way'. Weekends such as the last make me so incredibly thankful of traditions such as Jackson Family Summer Games and being present in the precious moments given to me. Quality, I have learned, trumps time.
If you miss someone, let them know. And the next time you are together look each other in the eyes and smile while you're talking. Life's best moments happen when you forget where you sat down your phone.
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