The Vitality of Family

The importance of family is very difficult to comprehend at times. It isn’t a difficult subject to talk about, but what is the best way to describe it. You could say that a family is a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household or its Mom and Dad and 2.5 kids, but it isn’t the best definition of the word. Not all families are the same as what I like to call the “sitcom family” where their troubles last for a half hour and everything's all hunky-dory as the credits roll.

Families have evolved over time and have taken different forms. Family doesn’t end with blood relatives but to close friends that you couldn’t live without. Gender Roles on the way a family should be are fading from existence form being challenged by the 21st century society. Couples of the LGBTQ+ community are now becoming socially acceptable as a family. A divorced family, which would have been shocking in decades prior, is an accepted part of society. As families evolve, and become less like the “sitcom family”, the bonds between them never change. Also, just because a family isn’t societies’ norm, doesn’t mean you should label the family broken. In “Stone Soup” by she writes, “Lucky is the child with this many relatives on hand to hail a proud accomplishment” (Paragraph 1 Kingsolver). This kid has all of these people supporting him at his baseball game, and shows how even though a family may be labeled “broken” doesn't mean that the family is truly broken.

In the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the Nolan family is far from perfect. With Johnny’s alcoholism and Katie basically raising the kids on her own, their family is far from perfect. Just because their family isn't perfect, doesn't mean that it’s a bad family. In the book the author, Betty Smith, writes,” “Francie was proud of her father, she wrapped up his ironed apron carefully in a clean piece of paper, saved for that purpose; she walked with him to the trolley car. Women smiled at him until they noticed the little girl clinging to his hand, Johnny looked like a devil-may-care Irish boy instead of the husband of a scrub woman and the father of two children who are always hungry” (Smith pg.38). In the quote the book, Francie is proud of her father even though he isn’t the greatest father in the world. Even though Johnny is a less-than-stellar father, Francie thinks he is a good person and is happy when they are together. Also, in another section of the book Francie states,” My brother is next, his arm is as dirty as mine, so don't be surprised” (Smith 147). In this part of the book, Francie and brother are judged because they are covered in dirt, so the staff at the Doctor’s assumes that they were poor. Francie sticks up for herself and her family and shows that even when no one is watching, it’s important to stand up for what matters in life. For Francie, that means her family.

I think that one phrase that describes family well is Ohana. Ohana is Hawaiian for family. The word is best described in the 2002 animated Disney film Lilo & Stitch. The film focuses on two sisters which the older sister Nani needs to take care of her younger sister Lilo after their parents died in a car crash. They soon adopt a dog named Stitch who is an alien in disguise that the sisters adopt thinking it's a dog.  Lilo, Nani, and Stitch all say sometime during the movie,”Ohana means family. Family means nobody left behind or forgotten.”  Another quote that describes family is when Stitch says, “This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah - still good.” Both quotes show how a family may not be perfect, but it's not something that you can leave behind either. The quotes also show good virtues to have when it comes to family. You don’t leave people that you love behind. It’s okay if your family is small, and broken. What matters is the love in the relationships between family members. If you love and care about your family, no matter if it’s big or small, there will always be happiness and hope that can help you through even the darkest of times. In the end, “My soup contains a rock or two of hard times, and maybe yours does too. I expect it’s a heck of a bouillabaisse” (Paragraph 31 Kingsolver).

Love Always,

Erin

P.S. If you want another version of this post without awkward quote inserts that are mainly for requirements, click on the link below.

http://erinfrizzell.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-meaning-of-ohana.html

Streak of Happiness

Hello World,

Personally, you know that one of my favorite times of year is the first few weeks of fall. The weeks were the leaves are changing colors until they fall off of the tree and turn brown, and crispy, the aroma  of pumpkins and cinnamon infiltrates the air, and everything in between. These past two weeks have been a hectic blast to experience because in a short amount of time,  my life has changed for the better.

This time of the year started out with a mission trip reunion with my NOLA team on September 27th. I got to see some of my friends, and we reminisced over memories down in the Big Easy. Some of the memories ranged from goofing off in our vans, to heart-felt talks with the locals in the area. One of my teammates Jocelyne was wearing an interesting shirt. When I asked her about it, she said that it was for a nonprofit organization she and her family made called Angels for Syrian Kids (A.S.K. for short) to help with the Syrian Refugee crisis. I wanted to help as soon as I could, and I did by paying $20 for an A.S.K. shirt and praying for the refugees half way across the world.  If you want to learn more, you can go to her website http://www.angels4syriankids.org/ for more information.

My week in school was relatively mediocre, as I started to develop a rhythm in school. Go to class, try to pay attention to the teachers, and don’t be late.  I wanted to have something other than the end of school to look forward to. Coincidentally, there was a Club fair going on October 2nd. During this time I signed up for Art Club, Drama Club, The Feminist League, the school’s musical later in the year, and the chance to be on High School Quiz Show. Either way, I’m very excited for what the future holds and I hope I didn’t go too overboard with the clubs/activities.

The next day, my family and I went apple picking in Apple Acres in Windham, New Hampshire. Every year my mom and her friends from high school and their kids come together to go apple picking. The tradition has been going on since before I was born, and have been doing it almost every year of my life. In fact, the younger picture of me on my About Me page was on an apple picking trip. It was very fun to climb the apple trees, or try to at the very least, and eat some very yummy apple cider doughnuts. All in all, it's one of my favorite fall traditions to partake in.

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The next week was a hectic one in my life.  First, my tryout for the High School Quiz Show was on Monday, my first Drama Club meeting was on Tuesday, the Belmont Fire Department Open House was on Wednesday night.  Needless to say I’m happy that it’s a long weekend, so I could rest. On Monday, I was the only one there for this tryout day ,there was also Tuesday. When taking it, I was pretty sure that i was going to not get on the team. Luckily, on Thursday, I found out that I was on the team! It turns out that I was one of the top four people, so I was going to be on TV instead of being an alternate. Needless to say, I couldn’t contain my excitement during my American History class.

Tuesday’s Drama Club meeting was also interesting. We mostly talked about our play for Dramafest which is a competition between high schools preforming one-act plays. On Wednesday, I volunteered at the Belmont Fire Department Open House. Since my dad is the fire chief, I have been going to the Open Houses since I was a little. I helped out by serving drinks, and helped to serve some of the pizza. Volunteering there and seeing all of the happy kids going inside of the fire trucks was very fun , and also nostalgic of the past times I came here.

The thing about fall that is interesting is that it's a season that promotes change. As the leaves change, so do we. We all experience changes in our lives; some good,and some bad. But what matters most is that everyone goes through these changes because its life. A we grow up, we find out that life may not always be perfect, but it does have perfect moments. I believe that I have had a great past two weeks. I know that it's not going to last forever, but I hope that not just me but everyone's happiness streak will last a long time.

Love Always,

Erin

The Sacredness of the Ordinary

Around the world, people have objects close to their hearts that are actually just ordinary things seen in everyday life. Mine is not a tangible object, but it's something I draw on myself or on stray papers. Something that is close to my heart is five little birds in flight. You may ask, "Why is it important to you?"  to answer the question it symbolizes more than my love of animals. It symbolizes the family members that I've met in my life that have departed over the years.

Throughout my life, people from both sides of my family have passed away.  The first bird represents my maternal grandfather Charles “Papu” Kandres, who passed away on November, 19th 2004. The second bird represents my maternal great-grandfather John “Papa” Kandres, who passed on January 25th, 2007. The third bird represents my maternal great-uncle John “Uncle John” Kandres, who died on September 29th, 2008. The fourth bird represents my paternal great-grandmother Louise “Nana” Sawtell who passed on January 12th, 2012. Finally, the fifth and most current bird represents my paternal uncle Michael “Mike” Frizzell, who passed away on February 7th, 2015.

Though my life has had some sad times with their passings, I like to think positively and think that there in heaven. With them “flying” to heaven after they have died, and the reason behind Tris’s tattoo in Divergent, I started to associate them with birds. Birds have the ability of freedom to fly away from trouble, and have this majesty to them; which I believe fits well with souls going to heaven.

The number of birds I have close to will never go down. It is the harsh truth of death that once they’re gone they’re gone. However, as the 11th Doctor says, "Nothing is ever truly forgotten". The remembrance of people we love lives on in our hearts; all of our memories with them, good and bad, help make up the person we love and care about. We remember the trips we went on with them. We remember those happy moments that seem ordinary to some, but always seem to stick in your mind. It is always hard to lose a loved one, but if we reflect about our times with them, long or short, it can make the transition a bit easier.

When I get older, I would like to get a tattoo of the birds on my ankle. As time goes on, I will keep adding more birds when necessary, so by the time I die I will have a reminder that I’ll meet them again soon. I know that it sounds a bit weird, but it’s what I would personally like to do; have a permanent reminder of the past that symbolizes moving forward.

All in all, when you’re dealing with the loss of someone you love and the aftermath, it's important to think of the positive memories. From that ice-cream sundae at the nursing home to a family trip to Florida, we all have to cherish the good times and not reminisce so much over the bad times. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but the bad things in life don’t spoil the good things. For me, my memories of the people I love are in the simple flight of five birds.

Love always,

Erin