#16 Treat your family like friends and your friends like family."

Respond to the proverb: "Treat your family like friends and your friends like family."

It is easy to get into a rut with family - we are with them all the time - we see each other at our worst - we know each other all too well. It is easy to take each other for granted. It is easy to feel like our spouse or children or siblings should understand our motives with out having to explain ourselves. It is easy to get more angry at them then we would ever get at a friend if each had committed the same offense.

There is no one on this planet who can and does - push my buttons like my husband. I can be cool, calm and collected, patient, kind, loving, feeling it to my core, happy and playing with my children - and if he pushes my buttons just right - then HOLY COW look out anyone in my path. It takes a lot of effort, recognition, soul searching, writing, thinking, praying.... to conquer that. I am getting better. Better at stating my feeling "I feel hurt because you spoke to me disrespectfully" instead of "you spineless cowardly nincompoop - how dare you, what kind of ....." (you get the picture). I haven't always stood up for myself. NO - just because I can yell doesn't mean that I stood up for myself.

When my girls start to have troubles - I will sometimes have them start doing things for each other - small services. It is hard to be angry at someone who you are serving lovingly.

I think the point is that we should treat our family members with the same respect, adoration, kindness, wonder, consideration, etc. that we show our friends.

That being said, I don't give my friends enough. I need to be a better friend. I need to continue my efforts to curb my reactionary responses to the button pushing until those buttons just don't respond anymore - you know replacing it with healthier more meaningful behaviors.