14 Important Life Lessons You Only Learn By Accident

12. Family Is Permanent

I'm not going to pretend that I can say something that's going to apply to every person who is reading this. The truth is that there are some people who would prefer to never speak to their blood-related family ever again, and rightfully so. But there are others who may not have learned yet that family is actually more permanent than friends. We don't like to admit this because there are phases we go through in which we want to distance ourselves from these relationships that feel arbitrary or unnecessary. It isn't until much later on that we realise how we've missed out on developing bonds with people we will forever be related to. It might be 1, 10, maybe 30 years from now, but the day may come when your sister is getting married, but you're not invited. Your brother had a child, but you didn't get the phone call. Your mother passed away, but no one knew to let you know about it. It isn't until these moments that we learn how important family is, regardless of the circumstances.