Male Relative
"The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people - no mere father and mother - as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born."
- Pearl S. Buck
Gift ideas
Pillow: "You can lean on me"
A pillow with a beautiful, comfy pillow case makes an excellent present for anyone in a difficult situation. Whether confinement to bed due to illness, requiring back support for the elderly or "a shoulder to cry on" for someone going through a rough patch - this is a fantastic and personal gift providing comfort, both physically and mentally.
Electronics: Web Cam
Is a loved one moving away, or indeed, are you moving away? Why not give Ka web cam so you can keep in touch? With high-speed internet connections being available almost anywhere in the world, it is easy enough to keep in touch.
Sweets: Yellow Candy in a Jar
Need a gift for someone who is feeling blue? Help them 'beat the blues' and give a jar of yellow-coloured candy (or in fact, any other yellow items).
Your message could read "Green is the colour of hope, regeneration and strength. I'm giving you a little yellow to turn your blues into a beautiful green!".
Gifts that moved people
Pair of sneakers
Nobody in the state had that type of sneakers and all the boys at school were surprised. The gift made me feel very special.
Gifts gone wrong...
Very bright red and green flannel shirt
The gift was not purchased with my own likes/dislikes in mind. The gift was purchased based on the style of clothing my mother-in-law liked and not on what I like.
Chilis gift card
It was a gift card to a business not located near where I live. The closest location is about 3 hours away. It just seemed thoughtless.
Quotes
Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.
When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points or it would be impossible to endure them.
The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.
Nobody has ever before asked the nuclear family to live all by itself in a box the way we do. With no relatives, no support, we've put it in an impossible situation.
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.