“They” say family is blood related. “They” also say family is a result of marriage and close friendships. I’m sure there are many other connections that define family so I won’t even begin to try to list them. Nor do I feel it’s necessary as we’ve all got our own belief on what constitutes family.
I’ve got friends I consider family and family that are friends. The past couple Covid years have been tough on all of us and some friends have gone by the wayside. It’s unfortunate but that’s how it turned out. Obviously we weren’t great friends, in my opinion, or we would have made sure to keep the friendship going. On the other hand, I’ve forged some new friendships which are on their way to becoming family despite Covid. It’s a blessing.
On a lark I recently did one of those ancestry tests. I wanted to see if there’s any blood relations that I’ve never met or heard of. Surprisingly there were 1500, one 1st cousin, one 2nd cousin and the rest 3rd cousins and further down the tree. And of those only one listed is a relative I know and have a relationship with. I have no idea if the others are from the maternal or paternal side, nor does it matter to me. One interesting tidbit that did pop up noted a relationship between myself and King Richard 111. Apparently we are descendants of the same woman born 9,000 years ago. DNA … it’s a wondrous thing.
There is report upon report telling me characteristics I’m predisposed to. Things like, fear of heights, cowlicks, skin tone, hair colour and eye colour. Some were spot on while others way off base. However, interesting stuff overall.
If one is curious about their heritage and possibly tracing ancestry it’s a good place to start. For me, like I said, it was a lark. I’m content with the family I have and the friends I consider family.
Until the next time.