Family is not our blood relations. Family is that tight circle of supportive people in our lives.

There are relatives - some very close including my brother and mother - who definitely are not my family. Some of this goes back to extended family just plain not being available in my childhood. I grew up calling close family friends Aunt and Uncle. As I have grown I have come to consider a few people in my life my sisters. And there have been extended family members that have taken on the role that my direct circle ought to have been. For instance, It wasn't until I was a young adult that I met my father's half brother who lived halfway around the world. I came to think of him as a grandfather to myself and my children. I had a far better and closer relationship with him than I ever did with my actual grandparents. In University I lived two years with an aunt and uncle. I came to think of them as parents - especially my aunt for she where my own mother was abusive and neglectful my Aunt was probably the kindest and most nurturing person in my life. When I think of mother she is the woman who comes to mind. She supported me and shaped me into the person I am today.

I absolutely do not think family as blood relations. My true kinship far exceeds that. There are those I would go to the moon and back for while there are people I am related to I would not lift a hand for.