This wedding has really made my question the whole concept of family and what it means to me. As tradition goes, your blood family would be the first people on the guest list before anyone else. It’s not my wish to offend any family members reading this but to be truthful; there are a lot of the family that I know nothing about except that they’re blood related to Mum and Dad. I don’t know what food they like, what music they listen too. If they have any phobia’s even when there birthdays are! Some of us exchange cards at Christmas time but beyond that there is very little if any communication. Over the years, I’ve grown up with a new pseudo family who are not related by blood but have become related by love. These friends have supported me unconditionally both emotionally and some financially (I love you Ginny and Gary! You are both very special!). The London bombings only proved to highlight this point as most of the calls I received on 7/7 were from my worried pseudo family. This piece is in no way to disrespect any of my blood relations but just an expression of how things look in reality as opposed to what tradition dictates. I don’t feel sad about it either. I accept that we all have our own lives and different priorities which don’t always include the people some may assume will be included.
