Today’s post is from a lovely new blogger called Purple Crazy Mum (I know, isn’t that a brilliant name!?). If you want to say hello, you can see her on Twitter, or pop over and give her some comment love on the blog. 

So I’ve written and rewritten a million beginnings as I try to work out what to write for my first ever guestpost for dorkymum. Instead of my usual post about what funny things Eva has done, I decided I’d use this as an excuse to write something slightly different.

I wanted to write about ‘family’. What do you class as family?

For me, family means those closest to you that you know you can trust, would do anything for you and you would do the same for them. To me, family is knowing someone is just a call away. Strangely enough I’ve spent my life without any real family around me. But now I have started my own, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what family means. After thinking this over and over for the last few years I’ve worked out that at the very least I will always make sure I am there to support my family.  If I can help in any other way I will always try my best to do so.

I’m currently in a tough situation. We have no one around to help us get back on our feet (to be fair it would take more than I would ask of anyone) yet if either of our parents were decent people the whole mess we are in would be solved instantly. So I have also decided that if someone I class as family needs help, and I can do something, I will always step up and do what I can.

I have always done this naturally, and unfortunately I have sometimes been taken for granted so I have thought a great deal about who I would consider actual family.

Firstly my daughter, she will always come first regardless! Second would be the Mr, even if we were to ever split up (I hope that never happens!). With him I honestly believe I would still consider him family, he will always be Eva’s dad because he is the best dad he can be to her and I know that wouldn’t change. Also because I can never thank him enough for the support and help he has given me with dealing with my past, my emotions, and myself in general. I am who I am because he quite literally picked up the pieces and made me stronger. And of course we have been through a lot together over the years!

I thought long and hard who else I would consider family and I came up with only one person. That is my friend Charlotte. We were friends in high school. We both went our own ways having our own problems after school but over the last year we’ve lived just a few miles from each other and she comes over when she’s not massively overworked! We’ve supported each other the last few months as we are both going through a lot, she has made sure I had nappies for Eva and milk, and she even went shopping one day and brought me enough to see us through for the week! I know if I needed to I could call her for anything and she would do her best, and I would definitely do the same for her. She doesn’t judge me when others would and she would do anything for Eva. I have even discussed having her as Eva’s next of kin if anything were ever to happen to one of us.

Have you ever thought about who you would class as family? Most would say all their blood relations. Apart from Eva I can’t say that, but I am grateful for the small family I do have.