Family does not have to be those whose blood you share. Family is those with whom you share the good times and the bad. Family is those whom are always there for you. Family is those whom love you no matter what. Family is those whom will claim you as their own, regardless of how embarrassing you can be.

I have family that extends beyond those that I share blood with.

Mullen Rd. has blessed me with the most perfect extension to my crazy family. From family dinners to “sharing” a dog, we often say that we are one family in two houses. People have often thought it odd that we know each other’s garage codes and go grocery shopping in the other’s pantry. But to us it’s normal.

It’s normal for me to accidentally call someone else “Mom.”

It’s normal for her to sign papers for me on the line that says “parent or legal guardian.”

It’s normal to wander across the yard to have dinner in one house when we don’t like what’s being served at the other house.

It’s normal to have a worn out path in the yard between our houses.

And it’s normal to have that path be the first thing shoveled when it snows.

It’s normal to have birthday dinners together.

It’s normal to say I have five siblings, not just two.

It’s normal to call each other our family.

It’s normal for us to fight.

It’s normal for us to call each other names.

It’s normal for us to argue over who gets shot gun.

It’s normal to call each other family.

It’s normal to say “I love you.”

Our family is far from normal to the outsider.

They may think that the combining of two families into one is odd. But family isn’t just those that share the same DNA. Family means sticking together through thick and thin. Family means never losing faith in each other. Family means loving, feeding, and never leaving each other.