jcmor83- Gen-Xer: Yes. FAMILY IS truly one of life’s blessings and should be celebrated as such. And while traveling in my military experience, I was blessed to become familiar with another term that is based on Family foundations. That word is ‘ohana!! However, for me and others that did not grow up in a traditional family dynamic of mother, father, siblings — but more of a hybrid type of family dynamic (still filled with ‘ohana) and the reality is that it can be just as powerful as the traditional form of family. Another form of family that I have experienced with the dynamic and blessing of family are those times that we are blessed to have family even when there no blood tie-in, but a spiritual tie-in and that person or people become family like. They also carry that ‘ohana spirit.
I’ve experienced it in school, sports, work and the military. Sports and the military have the strongest of the hybrid form of family experience and those people who are not family by blood, actually become family spiritually.
In special recognition of my close friends who have passed but were considered family. Thank you, Chris, CaFonzo, Terry and Earnest. RIP. They all were a blessing to me because of their family type spirit (‘ohana), that they always showed me.
What makes family a blessing to you?
In your opinion, what is the most positive thing about your family to you?
Knowledge Exchange: (From dictionary.com)
Everyone related by blood is part of an ohana, not just the strict nuclear family, and so are close family friends. However, the concept of ohana can go beyond blood relatives to describe family that’s not formally related, but who are nevertheless bound by circumstances or inclination. Churches, schools, places of work, and recreational activities can all be the basis for developing ohana, referred to as one’s work ohana, school ohana, and so forth.