In a previous thread, Sharon asked the following, and I didn't want anyone to miss it. Take a stab at an answer and give a shout out to the person who matters so much to you!
Amari found "family," as well as strength, in people she met on her journey.
But what IS family? Your mom and dad? Your brothers and sisters? Grandparents? Aunts and uncles and cousins? Can friends be considered family? What about those you work closely with, like people in the band with you , or on a sports team? What is family when your immediate family is not around?
7 comments:
There are the family members that you are related to, the blood ties, the family you are born into - then there are other kinds of family ties, if you marry into a family or someone marries into your family, if you are raised by someone or alongside someone or feel that close to someone, adoption, foster parents or siblings, step-parents or siblings, best friends, longtime family friends - even if they aren't genetically related to you, if they feel like family, and you call them family.
I did a series of posts last May at Bildungsroman called Family Ties. I asked people, "What does 'family' mean to you? Who do you consider to be the members of your family?" Each person answered differently.
I'm going to say family are the people we depend on.
I guess it follows that "strength of family" is the cumulative strength of the people we depend on. Sometimes we borrow; sometimes we lend.
I find this a difficult question to answer--and, personally, a difficult topic in general.
I guess it's different for everyone. To me, my family are my sisters, parents, but also my closest friends, who I also see as family. As Jen said, it's people who we depend on. It's also people we trust.
I agree with everyone: Family is our blood relatives (even when we sometimes wish it weren't), but also the family of our choice--friends and neighbors and people who are just THERE for us.
Family is my network of strength around me. Even rgz!
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