What Makes a Family?

Today is Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's.........

I guess the idea of family and what constitutes a family is something that is frequently on my mind.

I am adopted (I have found my birth mother), I have a step father and step siblings?? who are my family.  My husband was a ward of the state, he has a foster family who we remain in contact with.

Kind of messy.....  but this is us!

This weekend we went to visit my husband's (foster) brother.

There has been some 'family issues' and they were somewhat discussed.  There are complications.  We are close, like family and continue to try to remain as such; the rest of the family though, well that is a whole other issue.  While we were there my BIL was talking about his birth family, he has natural siblings and is getting close to them.  He feels the difference between blood relations and his adopted family.

So all of these things + today being Father's Day makes me think, what makes a family?  What makes someone a Dad?  In most ways I think that genetics plays a very little role if anything at all.  And then I think sometimes blood is thicker than water.  I just don't know.....

As I think of this more and more I have decided there is no correct answer.  This is not a one size fits all situation.  There are many factors that make up a family for many different people.  For some of us, our 'blood relations' are everything.  For others we love our step parents and siblings as if they were our "real family" (sorry lack of a better word).  And then for some of us our friends are our family.

For me, I struggle with not belonging anywhere, no complete connections.  I love my family, all of the different parts of it, the blood relations I am learning to know, and of course my children are my world.  My step Father has been amazing, and I love my husbands foster brother like family.  Other than all of that I have friends who are closer to me than family.  I couldn't love them more, I choose them to be apart of my family.

What is your situation?  Where are your connections?

No matter what they are, be accepting, be loving, because we all need our family, whoever they may be.

"It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us Father's and Son's." - Friedrich Von Schiller