What makes a family?

Left:  Kathryn, Leanne, Lianne with Marble, Keisha, and Rookie
Right:  Marble, Smudge, and Keisha

There are many definitions of family.  Each definition depends upon how myopic you want to be, what your heritage may tell you, and what your personal experiences are.  Then there are modifiers to the term family, such as "nuclear", "extended", "single-parent", and even "step".  Add to that what the government's position is relative to family law and you have a very diverse understanding of exactly what the heck a family is.

I prefer to think of family as a group of people and animals in my life that I care deeply about.  Yes, you read that right, animals.  Some may have a hard time wrapping their cerebrum around that while others would accept is as an axiom.  The kinds of animals we are talking about are the same ones that live with us and that we care deeply about.  Generally this doesn't include farm animals, pests, fish, or other organisms which can't respond to us with emotional attachment; but it for sure includes cats and dogs.

We have owned 6 dogs since my wife and I married; each one of them I can genuinely say was a member of our family.  Four of them are represented by the pups present in the picture above.  We also owned fish and a hamster.  I can say that the unfortunate death of our fish and hamster did not leave us wallowing in misery, but each dog we lost certainly did.  We loved the dogs, and the dogs loved us.  I don't think the hamster cared either way, and the fish were as cold as, well, you know what.

Then there are the people; they may not be related to you but are considered family members all the same.  Not by the government, not in a legal way, but are a part of your family none the less.  And why not; if pets can be family members why can't other people?  We adopt, foster, extend, and look after people we care about all the time.  A family is what you make it.

I love my family; each animal and person that has found its way into our ever growing circle.  Isn't it great that your family is not a stagnant, unmalleable paradigm restricted by law.  Your family is what you choose it to be, and that is the best definition of them all.