You’ve got a support system. You’ve got people who would help you in a pinch or bail you out of the pokey. That’s real talk. That’s real family.

Family isn’t always the people who share your last name. Sometimes it’s the ones who show up when everything falls apart. The ones who sit with you in the dark, not because they have to, but because they choose to.

Not a fair-weather friend, who seems to only be around for the parties. When the weather forecast is The Apocalypse, family are those people standing by your side to face it head on.

The family you’re going through it with. That’s the family that matters most. Don’t dishonor the ones who’d sacrifice for you by giving your loyalty to someone who wouldn’t raise a finger for you, just because of lineage. That’s a slap in the face to the ones who actually have your back.

Familie ist alles. Just be sure you’re defining family in a way that honors the people closest to your heart. The ones who’ve proven, time and again, that they’re yours. You need them as much as they need you. Do what it takes to keep them.