Functional and Dysfunctional Families

Functionality is all perspective. Outside looking in, I am sure there are many families that look functional, but in reality are the most dysfunctional of them all. I firmly believe that no one has a family that is completely functional. Maybe someone has a crazy mom, a dad who's never home, or an uncle that sleeps on their couch, whatever it may be. I have none of these things (most of the time) but its safe to say that we are not 100% "functional".

Every family has secrets, and something someone does always bothers someone else, but i think communication and love is what makes a family the most functional it can possibly be. In my family, we have a lot of love, but its not always apparent. My fathers side of the family has always had a hard time expressing emotion, and that has carried over to my father. I know he loves me, and there's little things that he does to show it, but its never by simply saying "I love you."  My mother however is the type to say "i love you" even if its the one-hundred and first time that day. I believe it's because she regrets not saying it to her mother as much as she would have liked, although she has never admitted it to me.

I am also a large reason for our dysfunctionality. I like to think that I'm perfect and I'm not moody like every other teenager on the planet, but the truth is I am. I get angry at my mom or dad for ridiculous things, just because i feel upset, and i realize this isn't the way to handle it. This is something i really try to work on, but sometimes my emotions outweigh how i wish i would handle things.

Every family will go through it's ups and downs, but as long as we communicate and love each other, whether we appear functional or dysfunctional, everything works out in the end. I've learned that we all just have to stick together to get through the tough parts.