System and Subsystems

I had never heard about a family being described as a baby mobile. Being delicate and swaying by the smallest movement. When I think about it, I’ve seen that in my own family. Getting uprooted by one persons decision.

Where a person grows up influences their life. I know this in my own life. I’ve moved 11 times, lived in 6 states, all throughout the country. I remember very clearly that I truly believed my life was swinging by a thread when my parents told me we were moving across the country from Ohio to Washington. We’d been there for a while. We lived there for 3 years, moved away, then moved back for about 2 more years. By the time we were told we were going to move, my family had been living in Ohio a total of just over 5 years.

By moving a lot and experiencing much, I’ve personally been shaped to who I am. On Thursday in class, I shared many stories about my family as I was growing up. One of the biggest things that has made me who I am has been my relationship with my brother right below me.

We are 15 months apart, but sometimes, you wouldn’t be able to tell. The amount of times that we’ve been mistaken as twins makes us both laugh. Like all siblings, he and I have had our ups and downs, but we’ve been through so much together. We might have different interests now, but the two of us know we have each other!

One thing that siblings are supposed to do is help us learn mutual support. That is so TRUE! I’ve supported him and he has supported me. I know that I can talk to him about anything and I hope he knows he can do the same for me.

Recently, I heard something about a close friend of his and it hurts me. I can’t do anything from a distance except pray for him. It’s easy for me to assume that he doesn’t want to talk about it and so I won’t push him. When he’s ready, he will talk.

We could say that every subsystem of family will change over time. Parent and sibling relationships. Family size. Geographic location will also vary depending on life circumstances.

If you want to know more, comment below and I’ll respond when I can!