Low expectations
Looooooooow. Let other families go to the moon. You just walk down the sidewalk a few feet. Go to the moon later.
Baby steps. Little things. Brief, but regular.
Generosity. Give.
Honesty. Encouragement. Positive.
Call. Or text. Short. “I was just thinking of you . . . thought I’d say hi.” Keep it light with emoticons. Then again in a few days or weeks. Over time, make short, positive touches a normal thing. Start there.
Stay away from the past, controversy, drama.
Find one thing
Find one true, positive, unique, good thing about a member of your family that you want to touch.
Then tell them that one thing. Again, call or text or email. In-person’s even better. Short. No big discussion. Short leaves less time for misinterpretation and for things to go wrong.
“You know, you really . . . look great . . . do that well . . . take care of things around here . . . make an awesome meat loaf . . .”
Or “I love the way you . . .” But again, it’s gotta be true.
Find one thing, then later another, then another.
You can’t start a fire without a spark. Then some kindling. Big logs later.
If you had to find one true, good thing right now, what would it be and who would it be to?
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A Family Like Yours is 31 Days of encouragement to help you appreciate, influence, and love the family you have (no matter what).
This is day 8.
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