The Most Precious Gift

 You often see those posts that say things like, "I grew up in a family where cousins grew up like siblings" and I always tag my cousins and say a little "thank you" in my head for this being true of my family.  I had three cousins born within five months of me, and four more born about three or so years later, which meant 8 of us all within about a four year time span.  Jeremy, Stephanie, Charity, Michael, Ryan, Melissa, Jonathan, and Philip.  There are more of us, and I have memories with all of them, but for whatever reason, the first eight of us were born in rapid fire succession, and we were all together as babies and toddlers.  I was an only child for 8 years, so my cousins were my "brothers and sisters".

I am a very strong believer that family is not about blood.  My dad is not biologically my father, but he's my dad.  He has been my father figure since shortly before I turned five; he adopted me when I was seven, and has been my dad for the past 41 years.  We've had our ups and downs, but the turning point in our relationship was when I gave birth to my first child, his first grandchild.  Babies really do change everything, and from the minute he held that beautiful, perfect baby in his arms, it was absolute, unconditional love.  That mutual love and adoration for that baby created a bond between us as well, and our relationship was different from that moment on.  Blood is not what makes a dad.  My son's dad is not biologically his father either.  His biological father did not choose to be a part of his life until my son was 16 years old.  My husband and I began dating when my son was three, and after we got married he adopted him.  He could not love my son more if he were his biological child.  Love is not about blood.  

Family; however it becomes that to us, is the most precious gift.