Here’s to the nights that turn into mornings
and the friends that turn into family
Unknown - Unknown

Your kindred-family are the close, true friends that are your family when your real blood relatives live far far away.
Me - Now

Yesterday was Independence Day here in New York and a popular day to spend with family. But my family lives in Australia and my wife’s is in Japan. No blood relatives here but ourselves.

We were not lonely. We never are at the holidays. We’re lucky enough to have a kindred-family. A kindred-family that is always there in lieu of traditional blood family.

A kindred-family is that set of close, true friends who act as your real family when your blood relatives live far far away. Author’s Note: Yes, I made up the term, it’s not in the dictionary.

We’re there for each-other as real family, we love and care as real families do. They are the notification contacts and next-of-kin names in our case of emergency folders. We celebrate each-others lives and successes and children as our own. And we’re there in the hard times, gathering together in strength, selflessly, as family does. There is nothing we cannot ask of each other, nothing we would not do for each other, just as real families do. And yet, somehow, because we are also true friends, we avoid the family bickering, intrigues and silly fights.

And we’re always together for the holidays and weekends away, thats who we choose to spend them with.

If you, like us, are living far away from your blood relatives, I hope you too truly have a kindred-family to take care of, to share with, to stand with and to celebrate life with.

For global drifters like my wife and I, it grounds and completes us.

Follow the author as @hiltmon on Twitter.