Family

What makes family, family? Who is to be considered family and who do we categorize as friends, acquaintances, co-workers, etc...?

Yesterday I had a relative tell me I "need to make a point of going up to visit" my relatives on my dad's side of the family. "There needs to be a family picnic - to reconnect and have fun." At that point I stopped him with my retort, "But we don't like each other."

Seriously though, this whole idea of family has been constantly present this last year. Whom should I consider family, whom should I consider a relative, and whom should I not give a damn about at all? Is family those who are genetically linked to me? Is family those I love dearly?

Websters Dictionary defines family as,

1 : a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : household
2 a : a group of persons of common ancestry : clan
   b : a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : race
3 a : a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : fellowship
   b : the staff of a high official (as the President)
4 : a group of things related by common characteristics: as  

   a : a closely related series of elements or chemical compounds  

   b : a group of soils with similar chemical and physical properties (as texture, pH, and mineral content) that comprise a category ranking above the series and below the subgroup in soil classification c : a group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language
5 a : the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family  

   b : spouse and children
6 a : a group of related plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many genera  

   b in livestock breeding (1) : the descendants or line of a particular individual especially of some outstanding female (2) : an identifiable strain within a breed
7 : a set of curves or surfaces whose equations differ only in parameters
8 : a unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographic area

With so many definitions, how can one accurately label family? 

Was Euripides correct when he said, "Blood's thicker than water, and when one's in trouble, Best to seek out a relative's open arms"? (Andromache 1. 985,  425 BCE)


Or is Pope John XXIII wiser when he said, "The whole world is my family"? (Journal of a Soul, 1964)


I'm starting to understand that family is who you love and reciprocates that love. Family are those wonderful souls whom you stumble across in life that you can't live without. Relatives have a genetic connection, but family has an emotional connection.