Prompt #2: "Family" Character: Michael Anders Fandom: Original Prompt:voicesinmyhead #2: "Family" Word Count: 328
When I was a child, I subscribed to the concept of the "nuclear family." A mother, a father, children -- in my family's case, two sons -- and of course extended relatives who we'd see on holidays. I was one of the lucky kids who didn't have to deal with the complexities of divorce sundering that notion apart, and it was a long time before I learned how rare that could be. But eventually I did learn that, for some people, family had to be other things. And in time, I learned that family could be more than just my original notion, too, for me.
Ryan isn't my brother by blood or genetics, but he is my brother in all of the important, meaningful ways. Vivian's not my biological sister, but that really doesn't mean much in terms of how I feel about her. Family is not about biology; if it were, there wouldn't be so many abandoned children and deadbeat parents in the world. Biology is just an extremely convenient way for most people to begin defining it. Family is the alliance that comes out of those ties, or the ones you recognize in their place.
The people I sing with in choir every week are family to me. The friends at the Tower, who helped me learn how to manage my life again after it was shattered, are family. And for entirely too many of my young patients, I'm the closest thing to a father-figure that they've ever had in their lives, and there's a family bond there, too. And yet my sister-in-law, biological mother of my biological brother's children, will never consider me family, because there are things about me that she'll never accept.
Family, then, is the bond, the acceptance of the bond, and the commitment to it. Blood can strengthen it, yes, but not always. Sometimes it's simply where you find it.
And I think I'm finding something new and wonderful, as well.