One of the quotes that will stay with me forever from The Godfather by Don Vito. That is because I completely agree with him. Family is the most important thing in the world. We should do everything in the world to keep our family together. No matter how bad it might get at times.
This quote reminds me of another movie, funny enough also a mob movie, 'Find me guilty' with Vin Diesel (Must watch). He played the role of Jackie DiNorscio, the movie began with his own cousin Tony trying to kill him. While Tony was shooting at Jackie, Jackie didn't run, he didn't even show pain for being shot. Instead he looked at Tony and said "What are you doing cousin, I love you". This shows that the pain of being shot by his own cousin, by family, was greater than getting hit by a bullet. Later on he even forgave his cousin for his actions.
This sounds like the most irrational thing anyone could possibly do. In fact most of us (not-mafia people) would have run after Tony and killed him. Jackie didn't do that merely because Tony is family. Family can sometimes do things to hurt you but family will always be there for you. It's a choice you make of being with your family or not, letting your family go because they hurt you or sticking around and finding out why they hurt you.
We all have very busy lives nowadays, some of us are in college others work and it seems like we don't even have time for ourselves let alone spend time with our family. We forget the importance of family, family who was always there for you. Even if they weren't there for you in the past, there might come a time when they will be there for you. I recently saw a post on 9GAG where a father who hasn't spoken to his daughter/son for 15 years donated a kidney to him/her. This shows that even if family is apart, even if times are hard, family will always be there for you.
Some parents tend to work a lot and earn lots of money but neglect their children and partner in the process. Personally I find that unacceptable, being a parent comes with great responsibilities. It is not enough to give your children a XBOX, a PlayStation, lots of money to spend but never be around. Being a parent means you should give up some things in your life and spending time with your family. Teaching your children, playing with them, going to their recitals, etc. This all shows support and affects the kids more than money you spend on them. I guess what I'm saying is that it might be better to earn a little less but spend more time with your children, with your family. I think today's society has become too materialistic, we often look at the price and forget to look at the value of things. Something as family you cannot put a price on, the value trumps the price every time.
Be a real man. :)