Never Be Too Busy for Loved Ones
It is very easy in the rush of living to overlook people close to
us. I do it. I have brothers who are very special, very close to
me, and I forget to phone, forget to stay in touch. Not because
I don’t care but because I am too busy. Unforgivable. Every
now and then I’ll complain that I haven’t heard from them.
But, of course, it is me not staying in touch just as much as it
is them. We have to make time, because if we don’t, time slips
past so fast that a few weeks become months, and then years
are added on before we know it.
It’s the same with children. Parents all harbor a secret fantasy
of, “Wouldn’t it be nice to return to the Victorian ideal of
seeing them for an hour before bedtime when the nanny has
them all bathed and pajama-ed and ready with the cookies and
milk?” sort of thing. Well, I know I do even if you don’t. But
the more time we put into our relationships—with children,
siblings, parents, friends—the more we get out of them. It has
to be us to make the move, to phone, to stay in touch. And
what if they don’t also do this? Fine. You’re now the Rules
Player.
This is what you do. You become incredibly successful at han-
dling your life, at processing guilt (you don’t have any because
you phoned, you wrote, you stayed in touch), at forgiveness
(they didn’t phone or write or stay in touch), at relationships
in general. You take the moral high ground and be the first to
offer the hand of friendship, be the first to forgive and forget.
(And I don’t care how serious the squabble was, Rules Players
don’t carry grudges, ever....)
No matter how busy your life is—and hopefully these Rules
will eliminate some stress and free up some time—you have to