Hi everyone. For this week’s Self-esteem Saturday, I thought it made sense to talk about Women’s History Month. This is a month that highlights women and their contributions to family, politics, literature, all the forms of art, science, math, psychology, technology, and so much more.
Continuing Mental Health Awareness Month conversation this May 15th
Founded by the United Nations in 1994, May 15th has been designated as International Day of Families.
We have several days throughout the year that are designated to think about and celebrate family. They seem to cluster in the summer. Have you ever noticed that?
- There’s Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May.
- Then Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June.
- We have Grandparent’s Day on the first Sunday after Labor Day.
- And even National Aunt’s and Uncle’s Day of July 26th.
- National Children’s Day is an outlier, celebrated on November 20th
While these are all important, International Family Day is the one set aside to celebrate the family unit. It is the unit of family that forms the foundation of your psychological house.
Who makes up your family?
- Are they biological?
- Adopted?
- Foster?
- In-laws?
- Friends?
- Chosen?
Do you have more than one family? Can your family come together in one place or do you prefer to keep them separate?
Is your family what you hope for or do you wish your relationships were different?
Honoring who you are and where you came from
One of my hobbies is genealogy. This is a natural extension of my curiosity and love of psychology and what makes people who they are. As an adult, I have also developed a deeper appreciation of history, which is of course, also a natural extension of psychology as we study stories of time and people. As I learn more about my genealogy, I often wish I had thought to have my grandmother’s generation tell more stories. It wasn’t really their thing, but now that they are gone, I not only feel the lose of their presence, but the loss of part of my story. I would love to know more about my families’ immigration stories. What was life like for them growing up, but also growing up in other countries and in other cultural atmospheres and other times in history.
In thinking about our stories and family, I think it is important to respect the painful memories and difficult lessons. Those experiences have helped develop strength and resiliency. They have taught you valuable lessons.
At the same time, it is also important to pay attention to those good memories. Too often, we focus on the painful memories and forgot to lean into the positive experiences.
What stories would you like family to know or remember about you? What are some of your favorite memories or quotes? Memorialize them here with our Relationship Solutions Center family.
Here is one I found and appreciate by Richard Bach.
