The holidays are a time of family, friendship, and all around together-ness. We're supposed to all get together and everyone be happy and loving and just have a great time with our little 2 adult, 2.54 children and 1.58 pet household. I mean, that's the average, so it's to be expected, right? My parents are divorced, remarried, and have children with their new spouses. The new children (2 of my younger siblings, Averi and Reid) call each other cousins and call the other parent of mine who isn't their parent Uncle and Aunt. So we don't exactly fit into the mold.
It's not unusual for families to be different than the norm. We live in a diverse society. We really don't have the cookie-cutter 2 adults and 2.54 children households with the stay at home Betty Crocker moms and "Honey I'm home!" dads anymore. We live in a society where families sit down to fast food between basketball games and volleyball practice; where the lines between divorces are blurred, and in laws are closer than blood relatives; where it's not as big of a deal to spend part of Christmas with someone else, or with friends at the movies. The ideas we have of families in Christmas sweaters implies a family mind-set that only seems to be present at Christmas. Not to say that the way things run now are bad- that's simply how some families, like mine, are now, and I love my family exactly the way we are. Not everyone fits the mold now, but that's what makes each holiday celebration unique and special.
Kaleb, When the word family comes up you do always think of a heterosexual couple with 2 to 3 children and a pet or two. But no one ever thinks of a family of just 2 adults or even just 1 adult with children. Family is a relationship of people who love and care about each other more than anything. You make a good point when you say how even though your parents are divorced and remarried, they have their own families but in the mindset of the "typical" family, no one cares to think if the members are divorced, have other families, or are just living by themselves raising two to four children. I know it's hard but that's what it's all about right? Even though the holidays are supposed to bring families together more often than another other time of the year but, shouldn't families be "together" at ALL times of the year?
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