The concept of family is one that has always been very important to me. I guess being raised in a religious household where the importance of family is always heavily emphasized has had a lasting effect on me. But like my definition of home, my definition of family extends way beyond the traditional sense of the word.
To me, family is a group of people who support you, endure with you (sometimes endure you), who will fight for you, stand by your side no matter what, and, most importantly, who will love you no matter what. They want you to be happy and will support you in your journey to happiness. Family gives you a place to stay when you have nowhere else to go. Family will listen to you when you need to get all the badness out of you. And all of these qualities are unconditional. They are there because you are family.
At the same time, family is there to give you a good swift kick in the ass because, damnit, you needed one. Family is there to shake you out of your self-pity-party and get you back on your feet. They were there for you when you needed comfort and empathy but they're also there when you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. They love you and sometimes, they need to supply tough love.
I want to point out that when I began this definition, I said, "family is a group of people..." To me, family can extend far beyond the reaches of your bloodline. You've heard people describe some of their friends as being "like family." To me, they are one in the same. I have had plenty of people in my life who have fulfilled the aforementioned qualities who were not related to me at all. Those people I would label family. I wouldn't necessarily label them as a brother or a sister or a specific family title but just the all-encompassing label of family.
And just like my definition of home, it's something that is always changing. Just like home is where you feel like you belong, family is also a place where you should feel like you belong.
If all of this is true, I have a considerably large family. And I consider myself very blessed.
Love you.
Mean it.
No comments:
Post a Comment