The Fabulous Five

The family value was and still is a major debate point in the west, where the "family" is constantly being eroded by the unstoppable power of TV. Who needs a family if you can have Opera to guide you to her newest line of consumer items? For us here in the East of the globe, we tend to value the family more even with decades of western influence. This value is seen as imbedded in all Eastern religions as a major pillar of having a virtuous life. I am no different in saying that I try as hard as I can to value my family and show gratitude for having such a loving family. But this blog is too small to take up all my family you know (I have a HUGE family as you might guess), so I have decided to let this inspiration go to those five special members who act as my column, carrying my heavy burden all the time with a big smile on their faces. I am going to be selective in this post as I am talking to those who have sisters. To those who don't I can only say tough luck, you're missing a lot. This goes out to you sisters.

To have a sister in your life is a true blessing. I know that if you have a bigger sister then she will most probably annoy or even bully you from time to time while you are still little. But once you have grown up, you would immediately have a spare mother ready to take her shoes when she is not there for any reason. A sister is clear evidence that God have created women as strong creatures unlike what some bigots would want to suggest about how fragile or how weak they could be. I say to them of course they are fragile and sensitive, no one denied that, but I also tell them to dare and try to touch a hair on any woman's child without her approval, let's see who would scream the louder there. You see Eve was not some bimbo who annoyed Adam, for God's sake she stood by him and supported him even though they were kicked out of heaven; who would want to have sex and get kids when you have just had such a tragic thing ever happen to you? But enough about women. I'm not here to act as their lawyer, because they are more than capable to defend themselves. What I would want to convey though is that having a sister in your life is like having a turbo charge in your car, when you're stuck in a race all you need to do is push that turbo button and you are immediately given a boost like no one can give you. I have had this kind of experience so many times I lost count. And the funny thing is that you don’t need to do much to get that kind of support, cheaper than therapy that’s for sure. No matter how busy, a sister will always make enough time to her family, whether she is married or not. Sister fights are also the best, one moment you see them bickering, and all of a sudden they hug each other so tightly and start fighting over who have wronged the other more.

A sad fact of life is when I see people moving away from their families and creating a separate life, cutting all links to the past. Yet a family is the only group of people who would stand by you in any circumstance and without asking for anything in return. So why would we not want to appreciate them? Another sad fact is to see brothers and sisters not growing up from their adolescence and teenage fights, and carry them over to their old ages all for the sake of a fake pride. Don’t they know how powerful they could be if they could join forces together? We don’t need a "soap opera" life to feel special, all we need is just to be ourselves and accept the other part of the family for who they are. Just think about how boring would a family be if all members are exactly the copy of each other. But sadly we think of family members as those who would always forgive us even if we constantly step over them, but what if one day they are not there to forgive you? If you take everything from a person and peel away all that is his life, all is that going to be left is his family. So please cherish those who would gladly care for you.

I can never imagine my life without my sisters, and to be honest I don’t want to imagine that anyways. I have been carried by them so many times, and I'm speaking literally here. They have always been there for me through thick and thin, and no matter how far they are. Sometimes all I needed was to dial one their numbers and after talking to any of them I feel that all my worries have been nothing anyway. A blessing like this cannot be repaid no matter how hard I try, but I do try to nevertheless. So when I'm out there rescuing the rest of the world, my fabulous five will heal my wounds when I come back home.

I would love to write something similar to my mother, but sadly she doesn’t read my blog, so I'll just give her a hug instead.