LADIES OF HIVE #178: Putting your family first is not a bad thing to do.

_{Image created using CANVA.}

Family is one of the most important in our lives. Some say that our family is always there for us, even when we make mistakes in life, and I have already experienced that. When I was in high school, I was living a rebellious life. I drank with some people I knew from school when I wanted to. Then, I will go home drunk. But, despite this immature behavior of mine in the past, they still accept me and have lived with me until now.

_{Our incomplete family picture during our grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary.}

I admit that our family is not on good terms right now. Our relationship changed, and it's not like in the past. We argue with each other sometimes because of misunderstandings. We always stab each other in the back.

But I think that is just normal for a big family and when you are living with your grandparents. You are really surrounded by toxicity.

What do you think about the phrase "𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭?" Do you agree with it? Or do you prefer the phrase "𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲." I would like to know what you think.

But even so, our family is like that; when our family has a problem, I am willing to help, even though I know that there are still some words that they can say behind my back. I still care for them and make them the first thing I care about, even if I can't make myself my first priority.

Because they never leave us when I am still a kid and my parents need to work. Maybe they made us feel that we did not belong in the past because of my father. But they still never abandoned us and helped us continue studying.

_{My Grade 12 Graduation Picture with my Grandma}

Maybe they don't support me in the things that I want to do in life, but they still have a place in my life.

That is how our family is to me. So, when I find work after studying, I really want them to be my priority before myself, especially my grandparents and my mother, who have really experienced a lot, just so I can live, and they give me all the things that I have wanted and what is right for me since I was a kid. I can still make myself my priority after I am done with that.

Even though they are one of the reasons and causes of my depression and stress and why I am suffering in my life, I can't just abandon or throw them away in my life. Because that is not a simple task to do. Because they are my family. A home. And I bet they also think the same of me. Even if I made a lot of mistakes and caused problems, they couldn't just abandon me. If so, maybe I am not here in this world.

And my answer will never change when I have a chance to have my own family in the future. I wanted to be a good parent to my children and a wife to my husband. I will put them as my first priority because "family comes before anything else.". I think making your family one of your priorities does not reduce taking care of yourself, or you will not also prioritize yourself. You can still have some time for yourself even if you prioritize your family. And making them your first priority can also be part of taking care of yourself. Right?

And this is my answer for this week's Ladies of Hive Blog Contest #178.

Thanks for Reading!

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PUBLISHED BY: @xanreo
DATE: March 27, 2024