I have a big biological family; I am the eldest of five and with us all having partners and children of our own you can imagine those multiplying figures.
In a lot of my SEN blogs since the start I’ve spoke about their support over the years, how were a multiplex family and how we share our journeys to some extent.
Without them we would not have been able to carry on being a full-time working parents; they supported, adapted and helped us thrive.
They mean the world to me.
This blog is dedicated to the family that I chose for myself. My FR-AMILY.
We all know that family isn’t always blood relatives, it’s the people we choose to have in our lives who also want us in theirs.
They are the ones that accept us for who we are, warts and all.
The ones that would do anything to see us smile.
My what’s-app is an awash of different group chats. I had to turn the vibration off for the constant bzzzzz, bzzzzzzzzz of an evening, whilst I chuckle away at the latest GIF or try to offer my pennies worth in a debate.
I have the besties groups, the kebab girl’s area and prosecco queens to name a few.
There are friends within these groups that I can see up to once a month or as little as a once a year, but the love remains strong and we can just pick up where we last left off.
It is within these safe spaces that we can share our happiest and or our deepest darkest moments with these people.
Share burdens that you would not necessarily want to worry your parents/siblings with, or a risqué joke that would makes your mothers toes curl.
I’ve told my son as he entered high school this last year that it’s not about having a 100 people who you know’ but selecting the right handful that you can take forward for the rest of your life.
Its these people for me; mainly from my childhood and high school years that are here by my side today – oh but not forgetting those kebab girls I picked up in work a few years ago, they are alright and worth keeping around.
The encouragement and love we receive from the people we choose to have around and to share our life journey with is the perfect life tonic.
I love my fr-amily – thank you all.