The Concept of Family

Family is defined in the dictionary as
"a group of people related to each other by blood or marriage."
And that,
along with a convo I recently had is my topic for today.

Me and my family have never been very close,
for many reasons.
One of them being that I was taught by my mother
that was goes on in our house should stay in our house.
Now, while I didnt always agree with that philosophy as a kid,
or adhere to it,
It did cause a rift between me and the rest of my fam.
Also, Im a bit of a loner,
and most people fail to understand me,
including my family
so that definitely plays a part in it.
While I love them..
I may not particularly like them all.
But we are FAMILY, regardless of all the bullshit that has occurred between us,
and I love them regardless.

Growing up,
I always wanted a close knit family like the Huxtables.

Two parents.
Without no real drama.
Loving and supporting their kids.
While maintaining the love they had for each other.
I prayed every night for such normalcy..
its all I ever wanted as a kid.
But I grew up..
and realized that just like me, life is imperfect.
TV can show the good times..
give me an ideal..
but real life will always show me the reality.
Sometimes things ARENT so perfect.
And relationships and families can fall apart.
But fear should never stop me from trying to attain my dream.
And I knew that one day, I would have a family..
maybe not in the traditional sense.
But I would have the family that I needed.

And it came to be that over the years,
my family has consisted of my true friends,
because they've been there at my highest and lowest times.
They've held me when I've cried,
supported me thru everything I've been thru or subjected myself to.
They've been my foundation.
As I've been theirs.
They are my angels,
and I can undoubtedly say that without them,
I wouldnt be here today
or be the person that I am.
Without them,
I wouldnt have the values, the morals that I have.
I wouldnt have learned how to balance my checkbook.
But most importantly,
I wouldnt have learned the meaning of true, unconditional love
from them.

Family comes in many shapes and forms.
We are not all blessed to have the one that we want or desire,
but that doesnt take away from the lessons that we can learn from our families,
whether they are related to us,
or just mean the world to us like our friends.

I thank God for my family ~ by blood, by marriage and by friendship.
And to the newest member of my family,
I'll always be there for you because
you are truly my family member now.
Never forget that.
We can have what we dream
If we work for it.