"This family tree's got deep roots."

Sometimes I only get the chance to blog once a week. And since I can't always get up the motivation to think of a topic, it's nice to have other friends to blog with so we can take turns. I enjoy being challenged to write about stuff that might not normally come to mind and also reading everyone else's thoughts on the same topic. Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for over a year, even though one of the group members changed after a few months. I love blogging with this group and I hope we can continue to inspire each other.

This week, I chose the topic: Who do you consider family that is not related by blood or marriage?

First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic. I will be only posting links to posts on this same topic from my group. So check back if you were hoping to read their blogs and don't see a link yet.

Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

The inspiration for this topic came from a few places:

1. Recipe for Disaster by Stacey Ballis (reviewed here). The main character's family is pretty much non-existent, so she considers her closest friends to be her family instead.

2. Glee, as there was recently an episode where Santana's abuela refused to go to her wedding, since she was marrying a woman. Toward the end of the episode, the New Directions were helping with seating arrangements and said they'd need a lot of seats at the family table so they could all be together. I got teary-eyed from that part.

3. Rent, which is where the header for this post comes from. "Let's make a resolution. Let's always stay friends. Though we may have our disputes, this family tree's got deep roots. Friendship is thicker than blood...that depends. Depends on trust. Depends on true devotion. Depends on love. Depends on not denying emotion." ("Happy New Year" from Act II.)

While I'm happy with the family I was born into and the family I married into, I also have some friends whom I consider to be family. My BFF and I always refer to each other as sisters. We go back 28 years almost, so we practically are! We even adopted this thing from a movie I saw recently and now say "sister code" when we want to keep things confidential between us. And since I never had an actual brother, I consider "Will" to be a brother. Our friendship has a brother/sister quality to it. We can get away with teasing each other about little quirks and we share a lot of inside jokes. I even explained this kind of relationship to my husband when I asked him if "Will" could stand up in our wedding. Even though I haven't seen him in six years, it feels like it's been less time than that. Then there's my big brother who lives in Texas, as my dad "adopted" him years ago and the titles just stuck with us over time. He's a nice guy and I enjoy keeping up with him on Facebook. There's also my blog sister, whom I finally got to meet in person last spring. We connected online after she asked to be a guest reviewer and then she finally started her own blog and I thought it would be fun to work with each other in that way. 

Only "siblings" would try to recreate childhood photos, right?

With "Will" in 2003

With my blog sister, Book Mama! (May, 2014)

Some of my close friends are "aunties" to my kids. My kids think that they have a lot of aunts as a result. Aside from my BFF, who also gets this title, and "Will" who is their honorary uncle (or "Cantrunkle," since he's a cantor), there are only a few friends who get to be called "aunt." It's something that was established when my oldest was born.


Some of my kids' "aunties" with my boys when they were younger (back in 2008):

On the other end of things, I have taken on an aunt-like role for some of my friends' kids. One of these kids, I haven't even met yet. That is my blog sister's daughter. She's so adorable and I love sending her things that I know will make her smile. I feel like I know her just based on all her pictures and everything my friend says about her. I sent her a birthday gift recently and my blog sister took a video of her opening the package. (If you go in a little over two minutes, you'll see her finally getting the box open. I'm obsessive with my package taping!) A past co-worker has the cutest little toddler and I can't get enough of her. I am hoping to see her soon so I can give her some of the stuff I've saved up from my daughter. And there's a current co-worker's daughter who is a year younger than my middle child. I've only met her a couple of times and she's really sweet and polite. I love being able to get stuff for her from time to time. Finally, there's my friend's two year-old son. He's so easygoing and now that he's talking, I can't get enough of him. (Of course, I love giving him stuff from my sons, as well as some new things every now and then.) While I have my own nieces and nephews, they're related by marriage and I only see them every so often. They're great kids and I love my oldest child's friendship with his same-aged cousin. 

Certain friendships have either become stronger or have weakened over the years. Some have been back and forth between the two extremes. I may form other connections over time that could become close enough to be practically family. Who knows what the future holds?

Another family I have is at my office. I've been at my job for a little over five years. While there has been a lot of turnover during that time, there are also people who have been there way longer than I have and I aspire to be there that long. I wouldn't say I'm close with each and every person at my organization, but I've also had the chance to get to know some people better, either by working on a project with them or through social activities that go on, such as parties, outings, etc. I've even become friends with the wives of two guys I work with. I've invited several co-workers over for Shabbat meals. I hope to invite more soon. I've brought meals to co-workers who live nearby when they had babies. I even brought one of them a challah when they injured themselves. I've spent more time than I probably should chatting with the receptionist, as she's so sweet and always has interesting stories. There is no other group that I would get up in front of once a year to do a D'var Torah, but I feel at home with my colleagues and comfortable enough to do so. I think now that we have an open office, I am more in tune with what is going on with others who work around me and I have gotten to know them better as a result. I even started a weekly "column" for our Friday Round-Up to allow everyone to get to know each other. I've learned new things about people that way and they've learned new things about me. Having my workplace as an extended "home" has made my time there so far really positive and inspiring.

First day in my new office building...a.k.a. my other house

Who is in your "family?"