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- What does family mean to you?
What does family mean to you?
Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. Family is a word that can mean very different things to people. Some are filled with warmth when they hear family while for others it brings up painful feelings. Regardless of the kind of impact a family has on one, we can’t deny that the impact itself is huge whether positive or negative, and most of the time mixed.
Question for you!
What comes to mind when you hear the word family?
@Hope Yelling, putting me down, intimidation and scaring me to get their way. Loss and loneliness. Betrayal and abandonment emotionally by people who were supposed to love me.
Once upon a time, there was a family that lived in a small village. This family was made up of two dads and their three children, whom they had adopted over the years. They lived in a cozy home with a big backyard where the kids could play and explore.
The dads worked hard to provide for their children, but they never forgot the importance of spending quality time with them. They would often read bedtime stories, play board games, and have family movie nights. They made sure that their children felt loved, accepted, and supported.
One day, the oldest child came home from school feeling upset. They had been bullied because they had two dads instead of a mom and a dad like most of their classmates. The dads sat down with their children and listened to them as they poured out their hearts. They comforted their child and reassured them that they were loved and valued, no matter what anyone else said.
The dads then took action to help their children feel better. They reached out to other families in the LGBTQ+ community and arranged playdates with other children who had same-sex parents. They also spoke to the school about the bullying and worked with the teachers to educate the other students about diversity and inclusion.
Over time, the child's confidence grew, and they began to feel more comfortable in their own skin. The whole family grew stronger through this experience, and they knew that they could always count on each other for love and support.
As the children grew up, they carried with them the lessons that their dads had taught them about the importance of family, love, and acceptance. They went on to lead happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives, knowing that they were part of a family that would always have their back, no matter what.
In the end, this family's story reminds us that family comes in all shapes and sizes, and what matters most is the love and empathy that we show to each other.
@Justmeforyou WOW! I just love that! I wish such a world would exist for me. I don't have LGBTQ+ patents, though I myself am non-binary. But how I wish I would have such caring parents.
"The dads worked hard to provide for their children, but they never forgot the importance of spending quality time with them. They would often read bedtime stories, play board games, and have family movie nights. They made sure that their children felt loved, accepted, and supported. The dads then took action to help their children feel better."
Dads can be great. My dad isn't, instead, he's abusive, so I tend to associate dads with not-so-great people. But they don't have to be — they can be great people, too. So can mums.
But how I wish my parents never forgot the importance of spending quality time with me. I wish my parents read me bedtime stories, played with me, and watched movies as a family. I wish they made sure that I felt loved, accepted, and supported. I wish they made me feel better.
But that's just what I wish — none of that actually exists in my life.
@Hope pain, loneliness, resentment.
when i think of the family i hope to build i think of love, support, peace, & safety
families are a living breathing thing .........change is a constant
they change with life .......while good at some times they can morph into something else as well......somewhat like a clique.
what works in childhood may no longer work as adults .....it is funny how perceptions change as we look back and as we add others ( marriage/ kids) the mix changes.
What is the perfect family the photo taken yearly ? what looks good on outside as every things shows us can hide some ugly real issues.
@Hope
LOVE! Lots of Love!, Caring, Understanding, and simply Being there for each other whenever needed.
@sociablePlum9167
Hahaha... "Throw a Pizza"... 🍕😛.....I love it.
Families definitely aren't perfect, but being there for each other when it matters is surely what counts.
@Hope When I think of family, I think of anyone that is there for you always and doesn't judge when you go to them for support. Family also doesn't have to be blood and I think there's something special about your chosen family. ❤️
@Hope for me family is the group of people that love you and care for you every single day. There are many exceptions to this for some people but for the most part, that is what I believe family to be.
@Hope
When I hear family, I cry, because I don't feel like I have a family. Because I used to have a better family till things got worst. There's no peace at my house. Always facing problems, always fighting, always living in emotional pain, always anger. :(
@Hope
For me, family means the people I surround myself with who lift me when I'm down and laugh with me when I'm happy. It's those who support me through the highs and lows, and who accept me for who I am, flaws and all. They are the ones who make me feel loved, valued, and part of something greater than myself.
Unconditional love, and acceptance, a sense of belonging and a place to be yourself without judgment!
My parents were my first bullies. The word "family" fills me with sadness and grief and pain and some level of jealousy for those who didn't go through the abuse I experienced.
Family to me is home. A place or a group of people whom when you're with feels like home. Well, home to me feels like safety and acceptance. I miss how my friend's family accepted and took care of me with my bff, it was so lovely..
@Hope I see a family as a group of people who fully support and unconditionally accept each other's true selves without judgment. This can be any group of people and doesn't necessarily have to be people who share DNA with each other.
@Hope What comes to mind when you hear the word family?
When I think of family, I don't think it's necessarily someone who is related by blood.
I think family is someone who unconditionally loves you, supports you, and respects you.
That's how I feel towards my son and now towards the people who recently "adopted" me into their family who has a son the same age as my toddler son! They are amazing people and I am eternally grateful that I met them. I feel extremely happy and I'm set onto a better path because of these people. <3 They're business owners and teaching me how to budget, as I never learnt how with my dysfunctional/abusive family growing up... I ended up in a relationship with my (longterm) abusive NPD ex-fiancé/son's father as a result, but I'm FREE now!
I was "family-less" for a while and went no-contact with my NPD parents and "flying monkey"/FLEAS brothers...
However...I'm no longer on my own. :)
I'm slowly learning to set healthier boundaries, how to read red flags, and when something is a green flag. Sometimes, I mess up, but it is a learning experience. <3
@Hope I'm not really close to my brother and father but I'm very close to my mom. When I met something bad I always say that to my mom and she is a really good listener to me. She always give me advice and it really works.
@Hope
Strongest support system and source of love, comfort, reliability, happiness and power without whom I do not know who I would be. ❤️
