“National Family Day” is This Monday (Sept. 26, 2022)… Here’s How You Can Honor YOUR Family!

Please read to the bottom of this article on how to honor your family (note: there is a tight deadline, so don’t delay!

Bonnie Eads, the Business Development Manager at Extra Inning Softball, comes from a large family where she is the oldest of seven children.

Between her and her husband, Brentt Eads—the well-loved, handsome and charismatic head of Extra Inning (OK, in full disclosure, this is Brentt editing Bonnie’s text… lol)—they have nine children between them… their own softball team, so to speak.

Seriously, family is everything to Bonnie, who invites anyone thus inspired, to take a few minutes over the next day or two to reflect and honor their own families… and here’s how she’s encouraging all to do so and why family is so important to her…

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This Monday, September 26^th is National Family Day… so what makes up a “family?”

According to Merriam-Webster, a family is:

“A group of persons, whether related by blood or not, who live together as one household, usually sharing the same table.”

I think it’s safe to say that, nowadays, the word “family” can be defined in many ways.

Family is so much more than a group of folks just living under the same roof and eating at the same table. My kids have heard me say on more than one occasion that:

“Friends are family you get to pick”… and I have experienced this in my own life too.

We all come from different backgrounds.

For example, Brentt, was adopted and raised by Jack and June Eads, wonderful people who raised him with love and though they’re gone (passed away), Brentt will always treasure his upbringing in Central Ohio.

Some individuals come from complicated family circumstances and might not have a biological family member who is physically, mentally, or emotionally available for them.

Due to difficult situations like this, perhaps, we hope others have opened their arms to extend refuge, acceptance, and safety—thereby, becoming ‘family’ to those who need one.

The reasons for various permutations of the family unit are numerous:

• Some individuals might not know who their biological mother or father is but are close with their stepmother or stepfather and/or siblings.
• Some families are close-knit and communicate well… others are the opposite.
• Some families share visitation between two households… others live under one roof.
• Some families have endured horrific tragedies and are dealing with the consequences.
• Other families are currently amid a crisis right now.
• Some families have lost loved ones or will soon lose someone they love due to illness, suicide, natural causes, accidents, and other reasons.

No matter your family circumstances, one thing is clear: we all come from unique backgrounds.

Having been raised in a religious family, I was taught the importance of holding those you love close to you. When my brother, David, and I argued, my mother would often say to me:

“Treat your brother kindly because someday he might not be here.”

Little did I know…

When my brother was 25 years old, he died from complications of a brain tumor. Enduring this tragic loss brought our family closer together in some ways, but not immediately.

We each grieved in our own way and at times we took turns enduring one of the many stages of grief: anger, denial, sadness, bargaining, and finally acceptance (and not always in that order).

In less than two weeks, October 7^th, it will be 18 years since David passed away.

On the weekend of my brother’s burial, my mother and I sat in the living room next to a big window that overlooked the forest.

My mother told me that she wanted to plant a tree in memory of my brother. I asked her what kind of tree she had in mind. Since it was Fall and the colors were so vibrant, she decided a maple tree would be most appropriate.

Shortly thereafter, my mother called to tell me that a family who attended her church had showed up at my parent’s house with a maple tree. They didn’t want to give flowers, they wanted to give a gift that would last forever.

We cried and, while the pain of my brother’s passing did not cease, we felt the tender mercy of God loving us through the kind acts of another family.

Today, that maple tree planted behind my parent’s home is now a full-grown, beautiful tree.

Poignantly, the colors of the leaves are the most vibrant during the first week of October every year… the same week my brother died.

Here’s what that tree in memory of David looks like today:

— Bonnie Eads, Extra Inning Softball

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No matter your family circumstances or what you term to be “family,” please share with us what family means to you.

If you would like to honor your family for National Family Day, September 26^th, please follow the steps below no later than Sunday, September 25^th, 2022 by 8 pm EST/5 pm PST.

1. Email me at: [email protected]
2. In the subject line of your email enter “Family” and then your name.
3. Send a picture of your family (provide names of those in the picture from left to right)
4. Describe, in 100 words or less, why your family is so important to you.
5. Provide your name, team name, position, and coach name if a player (parents, siblings, coaches and others can nominate as well).

And here’s what our family looks like today (well, with five of the nine kids, anyway… and taken a few years ago!)…