That stands for family aspirations, incase that wasn’t clear. The depth of in-comedy that grows, mold like, from the interiority of a decade(s) long relationship is not to be underestimated, but that’s not the purpose of this post. 

Family is, families and their aspirations as such:
I was talking with a friend of mine today about my aspiration towards multi-generational living: if I can, I’d very much like to cohabitate, on land or in one great big house, with my children’s grandparents. They can help take care of us, and we can help take care of them, it’s a form of economics based on good will and soundness. There’s joy to care in both directions, a deep humanity to it that’s far, far, far, far, far more than frugal.

This friend of mine said that it sounded Mormon. Not having many Mormons in Vermont I asked what that meant. They explained that a bunch of families living together felt like a Mormon stereotype. That’s a damned good stereotype, then, I said. She responded: to each their own, she was perfectly happy living leagues away from her family.

That’s a bad thing, I explained. 

I might be glad that my appendix no longer calls my body home, but I’d still rather it not’ve burst in the fist place. The goal is an intact appendix, just like the goal is an intact family. 

Having a family you love well enough to want to see all the time might be so rare a thing as to seem almost impossible, but that near impossibility does not make it undesirable. I fear that to many, impossibility, or something near to it, does equate undesirability. It’s easy to feel bitter and envious about a thing we don’t have.

I never wanted it anyways! It’s not worth worrying about in the first place! 

Some things that seem impossible, or rare enough to vanish, aren’t, they’re just real difficult, and really, difficulty means it’s worth even more than if it were easy. 

I don’t want to live with my mom because it’ll make our lives easier. There might be moments of ease when Abby’s able to take a nap as Grandma steps in, but really, it’s going to be a pain in the ass compared to the solitary life enjoyed by most. Sharing is difficult, love is difficult, but love is Good. It’s the type of good with a capital G, the type of Good that you find in hanging out with a baby all day. 

It isn’t easy, but it’s Right and it’s human and it’s what you ought to do, even if its’ rare, even if it’s a hassle. Most things worth doing are.