Family

fam·i·ly Pronunciation[fam-uh-lee, fam-lee]

1. parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.
2. the children of one person or one couple collectively: We want a large family.
3. the spouse and children of one person: We're taking the family on vacation next week.
4. any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins: to marry into a socially prominent family.
5. all those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor.

Of course we all have families that fit these definitions; the question is: Do you have close ties with your "immediate" family, as decribed above, or have you created your own?

Growing up, I was part of many broken families. By broken I mean families who went through divorce(s), did not communicate due to misunderstandings or hard feelings and/or had moved to different areas of the country and lost contact.

I learned at a very early age that your family does not have to be strictly those who are related to you by blood, but those you love dearly and are there for you through the good and bad. Looking back into my childhood I can remember quite a few "aunts" and "uncles" whom, by the definitions above, were actually not. These were close friends to my parents who were always around for holidays, birthdays and any special occassion; they visited more often than our immediate family members.

My definition of family:

Those you love and cherish dearly; those who are always there for you - no matter what.

Through the many ups and downs this journey we call life has given me, I have grown to be a very humbled spirit. I am eternally grateful for the people who are closest to my heart, my family, whether they are blood relation or not. My family: the peole who love me for exactly who I am, for all my strengths and weaknesses; those who make me smile and lend me their should to cry on; the people I know will be in my life, forever!