Family is everything. I believe that our family when nurtured can be our anchor. Often times you hear the term, “blood is thicker than water,” I used the term a lot growing up. I believe that I used it incorrectly. Lots of times we hear different sayings and end up just throwing it out there without truly understanding what it means. Blood is thicker than water is an old tale.
Well, I realized that this one was in fact a big one for me. Growing up I had nothing but family around. They were extremely present in my life. We have lots of first and second cousins and during the summers we would do more things together. It was a happiness inside that I could never describe.
As many of you know, I am originally from Puerto Rico, and growing on the island was a grand adventure. My cousins were mostly older than me and we would always go down to the rivers and the waterfalls for a day of play in the sun. I learned how to catch fish by hand. Well, mostly by hand. I sucked at it because they always kept slipping.
The bonds we shared were what life was all about. No one ever hesitated to help you if you needed anything. There is a small town where a lot of my older relatives lived and mostly on one street. If memory serves me correctly it may have been 8 or 9 houses one right after the other. It was pretty cool but as a kid, I believe I assumed that this is the way many others lived.
Then all of the sudden our lives changed and we had to move away from our family. We moved away from the island and into uncharted territory. It was extremely difficult moving to a region where we had absolutely no family members anywhere. It was a whole new ballgame and we had to adapt to our surroundings. Luckily we ended up making friends.
The term blood is thicker than water is a term that most associate with the “blood” being family members and “water” related to all others. It’s as if to say that all the others don’t share that deeply rooted bond as family. This is where I disagree. Family doesn’t have to be blood.
I discovered so many amazing people along the way that became so close to me that we shared this amazing connection as if they were blood relatives. They would do anything and everything for me as I would them. The bonds over time made me realize that it isn’t always the blood that makes the difference. Many have family members that are right down the road and they have never truly shared bonds like those.
The “water” turned out to be “blood” and they truly became my tribe. They became my family. Having an amazing support system is what it’s all about. Many people will come in and out of our lives and that’s ok. Their presence in our lives and our presence in others may be temporary and in that time we all can be strong enough to be “family” during that period. We can’t be the lone wolves forever. I have personally been through a lot of ups and downs in my life and I was the lone wolf for many years. It was a coping mechanism for me I believe.
I have been fortunate enough to have met some really amazing people throughout the years that weren’t family by blood but we shared a deep bond that made them my tribe. Most of these people have been amazing support systems for me as I am to them. As many of you may know that I am a part of an amazing car community that stretches across the globe.
We have done many automotive events and rallies together. Even though many of us don’t live in the same areas, when we are together it’s like we never left each other. We are a tribe of like-minded scofflaws that enjoy life to the fullest. I am extremely grateful to these wonderful people. We get to share our crazy stories and help each other along the way. We inspire each other by one-upping each other throughout. This is family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Be intentional about who you let into your life.
Conclusion
Just because you have blood relatives doesn’t mean that they are truly family. Many family members just don’t keep and foster the relationships in healthy ways. Grab ahold of your people whether they are blood or not and stay true to them.
