Essence of family

I realized today that some people simply don’t think of family the same way I do. And, even though I get that, I will never understand it.

To me, family is much more that people who happen to share the same blood. They are people to love, cherish, seek out, spend time with, enjoy, stay close to.

To many, family is just those random group of folks you know because you had no choice in the matter. They happen to share certain traits—physical or otherwise—but they’re only worth spending time with if you actually like them.

This makes me sad. And, still, it’s incomprehensible for me. It’s family.

Maybe I feel so strongly about it because so much of my family—including the distant French cousins—are so wonderful I want to spend tons of time with them. And, if we weren’t family, maybe they wouldn’t spend so much time with me.

But I’m really glad I don’t have to worry about that.