Fake Family

I have a lot of fake family. Who's in my fake family? Basically, they're people who I grew up calling my aunts, uncles, and cousins, but in all actuality, they're not related to me at all. When I first started dating Wes, it was difficult for him to keep up with who was in my real fam and who was a member of my fake fam, but I quickly explained to him that the distinction didn't matter because they all (real and fake) meant so much to me and were extremely important in my life.

So like I said, I have a lot of fake family. For instance, contrary to popular belief, my Aunt Rita and Uncle Kenny are not my real aunt and uncle. No sir. They are my parents' good friends and we just always knew them as family. Not only do I call them my aunt and uncle, but I consider their children, Chrissy & Kenny, my first cousins. I never really thought much about it when I was younger. They were just my cousins and that was that.

I also have fake sisters (i.e. Rachel and Sarah). My (real) sister, Meghan, and I grew up with these two since I was two years old and we just always called them our sisters. My parents and their parents are best friends and we've spent a s-load of time with them over the years (I'm serious, we spend a significant amount of time with the Milligan fam-- making their parents our "second parents" and our parents their "second parents"). Whenever I talk about either of those Milligan girls, I always refer to them as my sisters, with Rachel being my adventurous sister who will try anything once and is as free as a bird and Sarah being my youngest sister in college who is open-minded and opinionated. It's impossible to explain the relationship that the four of us share any other way.

(I have many more fake family members that are part of my life like the my Aunt Robin & Uncle Jack, my Aunt Connie & Uncle Del, my Aunt Kathy & Uncle Jamie, my Aunt Sharon & Uncle Bill and all of their kids to name a few.)

Needless to say, my fake family has played an integral role in my life. When Wes and I began talking about having children years ago, I always said that I wanted our kids to not only grow up around their blood relatives, but to also have a large fake family to call their own. Well, Gavin and Vivian just met their first pair of fake family members this weekend- their Aunt April and Aunt Stephanie, who are two of my best friends. Wes and I had been telling the twins that their aunts were coming all week and they were already super-pumped by the time they arrived on Saturday.

And, from the second they got here, they went right to work. They played and talked and sang with the twins. They changed and fed and burped the twins. They held and rocked and soothed the twins. These fake aunts really got to know their fake niece and nephew.

(Above: Steph with Viv

Below: April with Gav)

I hope that Gavin and Vivian's fake family will enrich their lives in the same way that my fake family did for me. We love you Aunt Stephanie and Aunt April! We can't wait to see you again!