Family doesn’t always have to be blood. My family has all these friendships from when they were younger and dragged out until I was born. Even after I was born we accepted these people by inviting them into our homes or different family events to make them feel a part of the family. In this case, we are making close family friends a part of our family. Here is why it’s extremely important close family friends are our family.

They don’t have the same last name.

This is a very important key in the manner and here’s why. Not everyone in your family is going to have the same last name. You marry, you don’t keep your last name unless you choose to but more often you just hyphenate it or just change your last name to your husband’s last name. So when your family friend comes along it’s just another last name to remember, but it’s okay because you already know you have every last name in your family to remember.

They know you better than yourself.

You keep changing, your friends always change, but the family friend is different. Even though you change they always bring back the side of you that you were back in the days of when you first met. Either that or they change right alongside you because you realize maturity levels can’t always stay the same. So they see the change in yourself, will admit it if need be, and take that into some type of approach.

They act like part of the family.

By act like, I mean they step into your home uninvited and makes themselves comfortable. With my brother, my grandma always loves it when his friend makes a surprise visit and whenever I’m over there I always smile and hug him the moment he steps in the door.

You give them the label.

Labels are important in a family. Having aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. is important since you can never have too many. Since most of these family friends are adults, it’s easier to give them the label of say Aunt Janice and Uncle Joey (especially if they are friends with your parents).

They love you just the same.

Even if they weren’t friends with your family they would probably still run into you and accept you as one of their friends or still accept you as a part of their family. Love is important to spread around the world (which is a huge fact of life); family friends are a huge first step into starting that change.

Close family friends are easy to come by. It’s just a friend that becomes a part of the family for so many years you gain the last name without legally change it. When I decide to start a family, or include people into my mine, I will make sure they gain that label and that last name without even trying because family is important. The members you gain whether they are blood related or not, the better life will be.