Family is first, family is everything. Few people will doubt that. But there comes a time where our family cannot always be around, but we still need family just the same. This is where our close family; our second family comes in. These people can come from anywhere, these can be neighbors, friends from a church, or a parent’s old college friends. These are the ones that we can call at 2 am and know they will answer, they have seen us ugly cry, and laugh our butts off; we have debated the world with them and told our darkest secrets. They will never leave and they are ever important.

We were both raised in small families but with a larger “family”. It began in the back left pews of the church with a couple adults and a few babies. It evolved into birthday parties, kids making gingerbread houses, taking baths together, bouncing on trampolines, traveling down the coast, getting into a little bit a trouble, and now a bond between the “kids” (and the adults) that is bold, loving, and omnipresent. We are all much older, about 20 years older, and still we have multiple mothers, multiple fathers, and too many brothers and sisters to count.

There is something to be said for having a handful of dads and moms to seemingly “choose” from, each one with their own specialty. The support they show and the honest feedback they supply is always cherished. Having non-blood brothers and sisters that simultaneously act as your best friends always allows for the best care, a quick laugh, or a rant about some dumb relationship. The nights sitting around a fire contemplating everything we have ever learned are the ones that will stay will us forever.

They have witnessed us grow, watched us struggle, cheered us one when we are at our best, and always will. This family may have not been our first, but they are our everything.

Love,

Connor and Cara