Shortie: Family Values

Above: No other great family gathering than getting around greasy Chinese food.

Last sunday. I'm at one of the nearby Chinese buffets (which by the way are unbelievably unhealthy, but yet so irresistable). As my mom and dad are I having some healthy conversation on what's going on in my mom's workplace (which is always pretty entertaining), I look over and there's a pretty attractive girl sitting there with her family. There I am... staring... actually getting kinda distracted (okay, horrendously)... and then she pulled the ultimate turn off...

She yanks out her cell phone and starts texting in the middle of a family conversation.

And she keeps texting... and texting... and texting... Minutes pass by; minutes that I see precious enough to spend with family. Quite disgusting, if you ask me.

Folks, I'm not even close to married yet, and It feels weird to already have these warning lights flashing. It's just that the coherent concept of family is so important. I just can't stress the importance from family being the indestructible backbone of support to their kids to families keeping open channels of communication. And, how can I speak of this? It's because I experienced how critical family support has been in getting me to where I am right now.

In a world where communication devices (cell phones, e-mail... Twitter?) can bring people together and make the world a smaller place, I can see how they can easily take families apart. No: I'm not wishing every minute to be family-centric, as every teen should have the right to go hang out with friends and be young. Nobody's young forever, you know. However, in a society that's getting busier every minute and won't stop for anyone, I believe its definitely rewarding to give a few hours to have that quality bonding time with family.

Remember: your mom and dad's clocks are ticking too...