Word 4 the Weekend

"Family"

Most will not be able to remember the tune "We are family. I got all my sister's and me..." by Sister Sledge. In all honesty, it's probably before your time :)

Anyway, I'm sure most of you were able to spend some time with family these past few weeks. At least I hope you did if you wanted to! During the holidays, we seem to try and find more time to spend with our family. We reacquaint ourselves with those we call family and seem to redefine what's important in life...which for most IS family. There's nothing like them.

While there is nothing better then being around the family, sometimes we do better if we take them a "little" at a time. I'm not sure if it is them...or us? Nonetheless, the reality is that family can get on your nerves or under your skin and we oftentimes do better when we have them in small doses.

The same is true for us as members of the Air Force...like it or not we are also family. We take care of our own. But the reality is that they too can get on your nerves. It could be your boss, a co-worker or a subordinate. "They" seem to want the world, you wonder if "they" are aware that we are doing "more with less" since their request are very demanding. However, since we must spend days, weeks and sometimes years with these fellow American servants, how do we deal with the "family dynamics"? You know those famous "family squabbles" and falling outs that happen within our ranks. What to do, what to do!

Let me give you one option of dealing with those whom we sometimes can't seem to get along with...SERVE THEM! What do I mean? Just what I said, I mean serve them, genuinely serve them. Give them MORE of yourself. Give them MORE of your time. Give MORE than they could ever imagine.

As I am spending more and more time away from my family (yes, even during this holiday season), I find myself DREAMING of a time in the future when I can actually SERVE my wife and daughter. Service with a grateful heart. A servant attitude which gives them EVERYTHING!