BLISS in Chinese

My friend T told me to stop with the past relationship debris stuff and get back to the pondering about BLISS. She knows not what she launches.....

Ok so I looked up BLISS in Chinese. I can't figure out how to post it here. Perhaps when I'm more awake and bored I will make another attempt. Until then....

One of the meanings for BLISS means, "family love and joy".

Family love and joy. Yeah right. I could say that all day and it would sound like an oxymoron.

When I think of family love, I think of my family of origin. My family was dysfunctional. My dad had a complete inability to express emotion and my mom was, I believe, a narcissist who held me responsible for everything when I didn't even have a hand in it.

So, how does "family love and joy" equal BLISS on any level. I suppose in many ways, family love is found in the family that I'm raising. There has always been a "looking after each other" kind of feel.

I'm one of those mothers that runs around asking, is this going to impede growth? If I can't see it impeding growth, we forge ahead. That translates to....we are a home without many rules. Always a horrible fact for my ex-husband.

We are also a home of adventure and exploration.

I think that where I grew up with a lot of rules and failed much of the time, I have chosen to raise children who can experience much and test their "knower". The "knower" is that place in your gut that tells you something is amiss. Mine didn't function properly until I think I was in my forties. Ok, maybe not that bad....but there you go.

There have been many times that I have let my children fail because it was their choice. I did warn them that they were going to fail, but if their logic was to forge ahead I let them.

As a result, my two adult children have this incredible ability to weigh consequences. I look at so many parents now who make all their children's decisions for them. I see children who don't trust their own gut. Still it is their child and their parenting style. Forge ahead I say!

My children in many ways are raising themselves. They are smart and can think for themselves. They use healthy logic. They are happy. They have BLISS...not all the time mind you. In fact at times, it can be a war zone around here.

BLISS in Chinese means family love and joy.....or at least this version of BLISS does.

Do we have a family love where each lays down themselves for the other....at times? Yes.

Is there joy in my home? Yes.

Does it matter how your family is shaped or functions? No.

Family love and joy.....BLISS. Cool. I like it.