What does "family" mean to you?

As I grew up, family meant being afraid to come home, wishing my parents would divorce, wishing I could go to sleep at night and never wake up. Family was synonymous with physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse. Family was a hellish existence that seemed impossible to escape.

Eventually, however, I did escape my "perfect" nuclear family.

Now, Family is having a wife and daughter who love and accept me for who I am. Family is having my wife hold me when I am sad and smile when I am happy. Family is hearing my daughter say "I love you mom" on her way out the door to catch the school bus.

Ultimately, Family can mean many different things to different people in different situations. Family can be something quite horrific (nuclear or not), or Family can be the best thing in the world (nuclear or not). I salute all Families that foster love and acceptance. For those unfortunate souls who are trapped in dangerous and painful families, I encourage you to be strong and find new loving families. Love is out there.

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Hi,

I'm one of the people who normally do not reply on this board however, your question sure did get my attention.

I had no choice but to reply. Before I explain my opinion, I'd like to say that it is not meant to be offensed for the readers on this board. I will say what I honestly think because I'm not the one to sugar-coating anything.

Here it is--

From my knowledge, the meaning of family represents on how we are raised. Not everyone is raised the same way. Some of us are raised in a traditional household with a set of parents and white picket fences while the others may be raised in a lowly income home. Not to mention, the current divcore rate is very high so it would not be surprising if many of us have divcored parents. I, myself, have a set of divcored parents.

Anyway, the point is that we grow and get to be shaped into the people we become one day by what we are taught and have seen through the errors and accomplishments the people around us made.

From the way I was raised, I grew up with a lot of people through high school. It did not matter that I was being bullied, what mattered was that they made me into a person I am now. Back then, we were like a small community who shared a very strong bond with our hertiage and still are.

So while growing up, they were a second family to me. We called each other by our first names, mostly, anyway. We also learned a lot about each other when either of us did not feel that we were crossing the line. There were too much silly fights to recall.

What I'm basically saying is that a true family has nothing with blood relatives in my experience. It has nothing with a set of parents- one mother and one father and to add, white picket fences. It has nothing with how much money we have. It has nothing with the products we own.

I will say that a true family contains true love. Nothing ever could break the spell of true love.

They will love you for who you are and cheer when you accomplish something. They will be there to comfort you whenever you are having blues. No matter what happens, they will always have a place in your heart. You also will always have a place in their hearts.

Eve put it so beautifully,

Family means roots, foundation, unconditional love.

There is no better description. Family does not mean blood or relatives. Family is people that you love unconditionally no matter what or where they come from. This is how we should be with one another regardless of race or religion. We are very lucky people to be brought up in a world were we have this decision to make. Family is not just your children, it could be a homeless person you have taken into your home, an adopted child from your country or elsewhere. It is someone that you take & accept no matter good or bad because they are family you show them love & respect hope they will go on in life and show the same. At least this is what my family has done fo me so this is my definition of family. Wouldn't it be great if we could accept anyone in the human race as family! Would that make things different!

The family unit is the group of people you find unconditional love and support with - and, these days, it is not as easy to define as it used to be. Unconditional love is a rare, precious treasure not so easy to find either - all the more reason to hold on to it, even if it is found in an unusual set-up...

For a family can be a group of friends, co-workers or roommates, that life brought together and who stay together, at first for economical reasons and, later, because they've bonded and they have no one else in the world.

The days of big families are long gone now; many are those who have no siblings at all - many people stay single for most of their lives too; hence, these two modern life facts alone contribute to the formation of these neo-families.

I'd perform a dichotomy between the concepts of "family", in the here and now, and ancestry or roots, as that to me is one's lineage and HERITAGE. One could say, also, one's legacy. Different if not entirely alien to each other subjects; the latter leads to the former - and from there we can choose to go into the future and found a family unit of our very own, of course.

A family of one's own remains the same ideal as it has been for a long time now, though; a mate, a child, maybe a second child... But the sad truth is that, oftentimes, "unconditional love" is not a part of that equation - only a need and urge to procreate, that biological clock ticking... And a man's wish to have an heir can be as strong, almost, as that too... But such nearly all-egotistical desires can only create dysfunctional families; "un-families" as I'd call these.

Because a family - a true family - is all about denial of one's own personal little fancies, for the greater good. A family is pleasing our loved ones, whoever they are - blood relatives or "chosen family members", be as it may... Self-denial for the common cause coupled with unwavering patience and acceptance of the "other"; that is what unconditional love is. And that is what a family is as well.

What Family Means

Because my job required me to travel the world, I somehow lost my family. Sure, we still see each other but there is no closeness. Also, along the way I lost my first wife. We just grew apart. Seeing the error of my ways I gave up that life and decided to stay in place and try it again. Now a different enemy is trying to tear us apart. Unfortunately it's not something we can see. It's the long hours we spend at the office, the two to three hours commute each day. The worry about whether the next paycheck will cover unexpected expenses. The two weeks holiday we get each year which the company is reluctant to give together. I want to have a close family but life itself seems to always work against it. No wonder so many people just give up.

What Family means to me: Someone who is always there for you, no matter what you do, right or wrong! Who makes you feel safe and gives you the ability to trust others. I come from a broken home. I've seen two sides of the issue when a Mother and Father are separated from their children. The children are the ones whom suffer the effects of anixiety, depression, abandonment, and not being able to trust others. The parents get over it more quickly and move on. The children get caught in the middle are more wary of having relationships in their future, feeling that it will always end up being like either the father or the mother. Grade 2 I failed because my parents separated and cheated on each other. Grade 5 I failed because they got divorced. I had about a grade percentage of 2% because I was lost and upset over the fact my parents actually separated and finally got divorced. Now grown up, I understand why they divorced, they weren't compatiable with each other. Lesson learned is knowledge that is gained. Kids needs to be told that its not their fault. They need to be reassured on a daily basis that they are valued by both parents and that it may not always be easy. I still hold some anger towards my parents as to why they didn't try to work things out. But it always doesn't work that way. They have to want to make it work.

Family is a unit of people that support each other & celebrate life's moments. With today's standards, family no longer is defined by 'blood' relatives. There's a great mixture and variety in everyone's families, from 'step-parents' to 'half-siblings', adoption, friends that become family, etc. It's a pity to see some of the comments here that 'limit' what family should be. Thank goodness, they are not in my family. I welcome anyone into it with open arms, regardless of sex, race or color.

Having lived in Mexico for years - I saw all too well, the reality of children that are orphaned and abandoned. If I had the resources, I would adopt as many as I could and give them a family. Everyone has the right to that.

Our family consists of our 4 children, my husband and myself. We believe in the old fashioned traditional nuclear family that includes sharing meals together even in busy times. Family also includes the extended members such as grandparents, aunt, uncles etc be it living near or far. We consider very close family friends to be part of our family as well.

As my husband was in the military for 20 yrs, we moved ever 3-4 years and having each other was often all we had for family. This makes our bond together very strong.

While I personally do not agree with the same sex unions and family, it is not for me to judge. I would much rather see a child loved and cared for in a same sex parenting model than be bounced around foster care or abandoned.

Family can come in many shapes and forms and can mean something different for everyone.. We just happen to be a traditional model.