I don’t really know what family ties mean, but they seem to mean something. We seem to share genetic traits to the point where we understand each other pretty well without even speaking. But that sharing of traits is not always a good thing. I think I didn’t get along too well with my mom, because we were so alike, so intense, and so competitive. I think I got along really well with my dad, for the same reason my mom did. He was calm, and mellow, and always happy and constructive in a supportive role.

But genetics must not be all that strong. I grew apart from my natural family, as we grew older and socially different, and as our values changed. It wasn’t a conscious thing, and there was no bitterness. It just happened as we found we had less and less in common, all the time. While growing apart from mine, I grew closer to my wife’s family, and am very close with her siblings, sibling’s children, and now sibling’s grandchildren, with whom I personally have no genetic connection.