The whole idea of family has always intrigued me. Yes, in our lives we have our immediate family, and then an extended family from brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews and the like.
I have seen at least three other families in the "Family of Man (or Woman)."
Clients from Business: In the real estate world you cannot help but get closer to some buyers and sellers with emotional ties in seeking to buy or sell a house for nine months. You get to know the insides of their lives.
Civic, Church, School, Sporting Groups, Co-workers: You meet birds of a feather with similar interests on a regular basis and the friends you naturally gravitate toward become a second "family" to you.
Social Networking: Groups like Active Rain, Facebook and others you may heavily participate in start out as virtual friends.
But we all know within a virtual communication between people there is a "real" person behind that keyboard. Whether you ever pick up the phone and call them, or meet them some day in person is just a matter of taking it to the next level of a relationship. But do not discount that these social networks provide a real "family atmosphere" to you. You know this is true because you look forward to their comments on what you write, you "miss" them when they are not around for awhile, you "care" truly about their lives and what they are doing in the backyard of "their" world. You "know" their face from their profile photo. You may have even heard their voice from a video they posted. They are your family because you celebrate their successes and you share in their defeats and sorrows.
I have seen much of this sense of family here on Active Rain and I, for one, am in awe of it. It is nothing short of sheer love between people who deeply care about each other.
A definition of a great friend is someone who doubles your joy and halves the pain in your life. A friend who has moved into a closer circle in your life as "family" I would say is someone you feel you just can't do without. What an honor that is when someone feels that way about you, or you about them. Afterall, aren't we just a bunch of "strangers" out there? I would say, definitely NOT!!
Like a parched flower on a hot summer day that needs the refreshment of a little rain, embrace all the family you find here. They are all very good people in your life. They are the charming gardeners of your soul.
Gary, I do consider many of my associates in the real estate business family, who else knows the trials we all go through better than our peers, who else can we converse with and expect this level of understanding, and aside from you all.. My direct family and my son's friends are all that influences me in my day to day decisions so we must all be related. Steve