My Heart Aches

To celebrate Memorial Day, every year, my family has a picnic.

Now, my grandfather is 84 and in pretty good shape for a man of that age and is still as classy as ever! My great uncle (his brother) is 80. He is not in such great shape. He is in a wheelchair and can't get around very well and he is very depressed and feels like a burden.

So, my great uncle lives in an assisted living type apartment.

My great aunts and her daughters were coming to the picnic as well. He calls them up and asks them for a ride to the picnic. This is all after my grandfather had to change his mind to get him to go. Their response?

"No. We can't. We only want to take one car."

Conversation over.

My grandfather then decides to go himself to get him. He is still able to drive, but it scares the daylights out of me, so my sister went with him while I made some food for the picnic and got some things together.

They get back. We picnic it up and have a great time talking with family and also celebrating my cousin's 12th birthday.

It is time for my great uncle to go home. He says he isn't feeling too well. This was the most he has been outside in a while and it was well over 90 degrees out.

My grandfather says he'll take him home.

I quickly interject and say that he shouldn't. He was working all morning. (Yes, he still works.) He was tired. I said that we would take him home.

Multiple family members were standing there listening to us talk about taking him home. No one, and I mean not a single person even so much as offered to help get him home. No one even offered to get him to the car and help him get in!

It made my heart ache.

I don't understand how I am related to these people. With the exception of my own father, my sisters and my older cousin, I don't understand. I was raised that family comes first - always. You take care of family, and your family will take care of you. That is how it works.

My poor great uncle felt like such a burden. I had to convince him that he wasn't and when I finally did, he admitted that he was happy that he came to the picnic at last minute and that he had a great time.

Shouldn't that be enough of a reason to go out of your way to help him? Who knows how many more picnics he will be able to go to.

There was so much selfishness and it lack of love. They have lost the true meaning of loving each other and having a loving heart.

I have made a decision. I am going to make a difference in this world. I am going to do most of it through music, but I hope that I can make a difference through my actions as well.

It truly makes my heart ache.