Brendan & Lori O'Gara

Family. I have one, we all do. Human families are multi-generational and consist of multi-species. My dog is my fur baby and certainly family.

We have two families. The one we are born in to and the one we choose. Blood makes one and trust makes the other. There can be love in both. Families have no set formula as to how they look or how they work. There are many combinations of souls to make a family.

My human family is diverse. I have a mom and dad. I have a beautiful daughter who I birthed. She has a daddy who is not the man I made her with nor the man I am married too, but she calls him dad. I have three daughters who belong to my husband and me. It took a legal document to make them mine, but we were family long before that. I have two sons who I share with their mother, father, and stepfather. I have grandchildren who I have known since they were born, and granddaughters I met when they were older. They are still my grandchildren. I have aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins, some share blood with me some do not. Yes, there is still hurt from time to time, but there is joy, laughter, fun times, and happiness too.

The glue to hold all this together is love.

Love is all that matters.