The older I get, the more interesting my family relationships have become – Not “reality show” interesting, but definitely more entertaining than it was before I became Mrs. Wilson. I didn’t grow up with a lot of extended family around (well… none), so when I got married, it was extremely difficult for me to understand how extended families were supposed to work.
Figuring out what to say, what not to say, who to believe, who to ignore, who to avoid, who to get close to – it was mind boggling that some people had been dealing with the complexities of family relationships their whole lives. Now, I kinda get it. Living with family is tough, and working with them is even tougher. I couldn’t imagine relying on someone for love and support, AND the success of my career, that’s why watching Mary Mary this season has been so interesting for me.
Commess– Trinbagonian (n) gossip, fighting, drama
My mom was very clear about why she didn’t try too hard to get us involved with a lot of our family. She felt that “commess” was unnecessary, and so I grew up the same way. My best friends and I have never had an argument or falling out – we disagree – but we don’t argue. Very little goes unsaid, even though we don’t talk every day. Our relationships are commess-free, and I like it love it that way. Working and living with family is not always that easy. I may not have mastered relationships with extended family, in-laws (blame it on lack of experience, practice or both), but my husband and I have figured out a pretty good system for balancing working together, and being married. Sometimes vacations get merged into a work trips, and we can both be really tired, but we try our best to never be too tired to be kind with our words, respectful in our actions, and understanding in our decisions.
Watching Erica and Tina Campbell on season 2 of Mary Mary on WE TV, I find myself nodding my head in agreement more than shaking my head in disbelief (like I do at a lot reality shows) because it all seems so familiar. What makes the show amazing to watch is that husbands are working with wives, sisters are working with each other on multiple levels. It is so interesting to watch how they handle the complexities of working together and just being family.
Do you think that you could have a healthy relationship if you had to navigate working together and being family too? If you were presented with that situation, would it be reality show worthy?
Three-time Grammy® award-winning gospel duo Erica and Tina Campbell deal with maintaining healthy family and work relationships in Season 2 of WE tv’s hit series Mary Mary as they balance being recording artists, mothers, and wives. See how they do it on Thursdays at 9|8c. Watch a sneak peek here!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WE tv. The opinions and text are all mine.
