Family Research Project

This has been a difficult week for my family. We had an unexpected family emergency that made me change the direction of my project completely. I decided to instead of posting the interviews, I would take a more in depth look at my imediate family.

Cohesion is the emotional bonding that family members experience with each other and include concepts of "emotional bonding, boundaries, coalitions, time, space, decision-making, interests and reactions. My family is extremely close knit, especially since the death of my father (2 years ago Monday). With the recent passing of another loved one we were reminded yet again how precious life is and to treasure the moments we have with that person. Take advantage of every opportunity to tell them that you love them, and spend time with them. During times of despair it is impairative to have someone to lean on, talk to and express your emotions to-no matter what they might be.

In the book it states that many families restrict feelings. My family has thankfully always been open to talk about anything. This was extremely important when my dad was killed in a car accident by a negligent driver and again this past week. My mom was great to let us express our emotions no matter what we were feeling. With seven children each expressing different emotions: anger, sadness, rage; we were able to feel comfortable sharing our feelings instead of feeling denied. Also during these terrible times we visited the "How can I talk about it?" And "Who can I talk to about it" questions. We all leaned on each other and really put our family structure to the test. Through it all this has made my family closer. We also experienced a stronger sense of bonding.

My family is connected. There is equalitarian leadership and stable roles and rules. Rules have staying power. They are maintained or changed through negative or positive growth.

As the oldest of seven children I try to be a positive influence on my younger siblings. In my family all five relational maintenance practices are in place. This is something I didn't realize until reading the text. POSITIVITY: I try to maintain a positive attitude. OPENNESS: My mother and I are both open minded. ASSURANCES: I tell my siblings that I love them on a regular basis. I think this is very important in re-instating postive self-esteem and the feeling worth. SOCIAL NETWORKS: I love going to extra-cirricular activities that my siblings are involved in to show my support. You know you will always have a fan in the crowd. SHARING TASKS: All of us "pull our weight" and do our "fair share."

Birthdays and holidays, especially Christmas are very important to my family. For birthdays we always have dinner, cake and icecream-(and of course presents) at my grandmothers house. Every Christmas Eve we go to my Great-Aunt's home with my mom's extended family for a big holiday celebration and enjoy everyone being together.

The Murray's are an open family. We are encouraged to pursue our own goals and interests but the family is always there to be supportive of our decisions.