by Melody Hearndon

Created on: November 24, 2008

The things in life that we can not replace, more often than not are the very things we take for granted. Throughout the course of our lives, we will all have done this very thing, but to put this into perspective, I've listed the top five irreplaceable things that we inevitably take for granted.

Family

Without ones family, we wouldn't even be here. Where would you be without the love and support of family? Even if your family invented "dysfunction", they are still the foundation of all the idiosyncrasies that mirror ones family member to another. So Aunt Martha had a sixth toe? At least now you know where that came from.

So what if you didn't get to pick your family? They didn't get to pick you either.

I was so sure that my boys would be destined to "hate" each other that I was actually trying my best to decide who would be better suited to check up on Mom and Dad in our old age. That's not a decision to take for granted.

In the end, it comes down to understanding that family always takes care of family. It's like there's an unwritten code. Never take that for granted.

Friends

We pick and choose our friends unlike our family. In many ways that can be a major downfall of why friends get taken for granted more so than family. With our friends, they get to know our secrets and any disgusting habits or problems we may have. In this type of situation, we risk TMI (too much information).

We must be extra careful when disclosing details of any kind that can be used against us not only in a court of law, but God forbid, in the court of public opinion. How embarrassing would it be to sit across from someone that begged you to keep a secret and then you get outted.

Friends are an extension of ourselves in many ways. We choose them based on trust, and loyalty. We want them to look upon us favorably and in the end, stand up with us even if we're in the wrong, because that's what we would do for them Never take that for granted.

Materialism

There's a growing trend in society that boasts if you're not carrying an "item" that's got a famous logo or name attached, then somehow you're not as good as the rest of those that are. Simply put, unless you're one of us, you're not any of us. That's a sad statement, but unfortunately a reality.

As I watched an adult male enter a high end retail store, I was fascinated how he conducted himself as a potential customer. He was well dressed, self assured, and unmistakably only interested in name brand materials that were displayed.

With that said,

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