What is family?

Family is a mere word… a construction of six of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Many say the last three letters “ily” are the acronym for “I love you;” yet, it can easily be mistaken for “I loathe you” and eventually, “I’m leaving you.” Family is just a word, a noun. There are two definitions for family: “all the descendants of a common ancestor” and “a group of parents and children living together.”

Most of the time, family is describe as extreme loyalty or blood with the saying “blood is thicker than water.” It is supposed to be the strongest of all bonds—the unbreakable chain, but some are caught with the other side: family that they cannot look up to. Water that will dilute the blood until it becomes nothing and fades away. The family who poisons blood—they will desecrate your name, rag you through the mud, use you until you’re broken down, and control every aspect of your life if you allow them to.

Family can be good or they can be evil, a blessing or a curse, the stairway to heaven or the highway to hell. Blood doesn’t make family. What makes family is beyond blood. It is far beyond ancestry. It is far beyond anything. Family is about love, respect, loyalty, open-mindedness, understanding, and sharing that love with one another. What changes that, what doesn’t make a family, is the exact opposite. Family is there for you when times are the hardest. They are the people who are there for you when you fall and who don’t turn their back on you when times are rough. Family is not defined by your name and blood.