Do you have to like your family?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend concerning their family yesterday. They felt they were being treated unfairly and quite frankly disrespected. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. It brought me to the question above. Do you have to like your family? I mean, if there are members of your family, immediate or otherwise, do you have to care about them. What if they don't give a crap about you? What if they have shown over and over that they have no interest in your life, your work, or what you care about.

My late mother once told me that "I love you no matter what, but I don't have to like you right now." Of course to my mother's credit, I was nothing short of a full blown brat that had a smart mouth and a sense of entitlement. That being said, I understand what she meant. I look at my family and I can count on one hand those that truly care about me. The reasoning is probably that I've had my own share of problems and I think I'm pretty stubborn and say things I don't mean sometimes, but shouldn't "love conquer all?" It doesn't and it won't, pure and simple.

I think that the important thing for me is to love everyone that is in my inner circle and not care anymore about people that I used to spend Xmas together or whatever. Those people have moved on and have no interest in nostalgia or getting together for Thanksgiving or whatnot. My job is to love my daughter, my future wife Bonnie, my sister and her husband, and my grandmother. These are the people that love me back......and here is the keyword....UNCONDITIONALLY. It might be a small group, but I will take it. Some folks don't even have that much, so I feel a little humbled to be honest.

Im too old and have too many scars to fake my appreciation or smile through something just because "it's my family." I think that is garbage. There is no reason to be beholden to someone because of a false sense of loyalty. I believe you stake yourself in life, and the earlier the better. If you rely on a parent or whomever to help you or care for you even though the track record says otherwise, well....you are a fool.

Don't get me wrong though. I still get a little jeolous when I see big groups of families' that really care for another, but that's not the case for me. I think it's fine to stop the hypocrisy (sp) and move on with your life. In that case, most of my family will just be people I know.