Jojo’s Adventure, this lovely book about how Jojo loves his family and friends by Joyce Nealy, teaches children the importance of meaningful relationships.
I’m not much for reading children’s literature, but I found myself babysitting for a friend’s kids, who was a productive individual, very much so. She and her partner had a total of six children–and I was going to look out for all of them (well, only half of them; the other half were already in their teens and were, I quote, “almost already adults” and “didn’t need someone to take care of [them].”
Well, regardless, my friend and her partner were headed off south to do some vacationing. She’d watched my dogs when I did the same thing earlier last year, so I would be a terrible friend if I didn’t say yes. So, when they dropped their little ones at my place, I was already thinking: how was I going to survive until bedtime?
Luckily for me, my friend brought with them their favorite books. I would be reading them to the young ones while the older kids would be off in the living room on their phones. It was an okay arrangement, to be honest–just reading books, cooking them meals, and making sure they slept.
Now, I’ve read my share of children’s books before (it was about a schoolboy who was why and wanted not to be shy), and I enjoyed some of them. But I wasn’t really looking forward to it, especially because I would be reading it to a bunch of young children who might (based on my prior experience) go bananas with me.
I am not that good with children.
But the book they wanted me to read, Jojo’s Adventure, a wonderful and lovely piece of work, helped me learn what it must’ve been like for these kids in a big, happy family. Now, I come from a small family, and although we love each other very much, we’re not that active in showing it so much. We prefer a light touch.
Through reading this lovely book about how Jojo loves his family and friends by Joyce Nealy, I got to imagine ways of interacting better with my family, especially my siblings and, most especially, my youngest sister. We had had some epic fights back when we were much younger.
Thankfully, we were okay and chill now.
But Jojo’s Adventure made me realize that “okay” was the bare minimum. I had to be much better. I had to take that okay and make it the best, and when I had already made it the best, I had to make it even better!
This doesn’t just end with families; I have to say. It can expand to close friends, too, people who are not of your blood that you consider almost to be kin. People whom you feel comfortable with watching your kids while you go to Cancún with your partner for a weekend of adventure and relaxation. People who you know will be good to your dogs and won’t have them escape out the back door only to be hit by a drunk driver in his pickup with big wheels that won’t ever compensate for anything.
I believe—truly I believe this—that every relationship we have with anyone, whether it’s familial, platonic, or romantic, is like riding a tandem bike. Both parties have to put in the work, or we’re just going to fall down into the mud.
You see, for a lot of Americans my age, making friends is hard, and keeping in touch with family? Even harder!
This is something we all need to work on, I think. We’re so caught up in this individualist mindset that we fail to see the importance of maintaining relationships. We let the rot and wither away. Treat them like clotheslines, hanging everything up until it snaps in two. This is a bad way to go about doing things. Like a seedling, relationships need to be nurtured and kept safe from whatever trouble passes by.
And when it grows, oh boy, when it grows, that seedling will become a towering tree that will help shelter you from whatever trouble will one day pass you.
Family and friends are both homes away from home—and I wish that everyone has them in droves.
The Happy Hammock 