Blood is thicker than water, we have all heard it, English proverb, German proverb, whatever it is it means that family should always come first. But are the route words of this phrase still accurate?
Let me back up a minute, the reason that family is important is because those are the people who loved you back when you hadn't quite mastered the whole potty training thing yet. These are the people who see the worst of you and are still there in the morning.
Maybe it's DNA that makes us so close to these people, our family. This brings up the whole nature vs. nature argument, one of the oldest psychological debates. Can we love a non-blood family member as much as a blood related member? Is blood really thicker than water? Of course scientifically it is, but psychology is a completly different type of science.
Spouses are a prime example of loving those whom we are not blood bound. I have a friend who adopted a baby boy and now my friend and his wife love this baby as much as if he were their blood.My daughter became family with my husband at the same time I did, at the wedding. She was six. He has nurtured her and she is his daughter just as much as our six year old son is our son.
So, blood hypothetically, is not thicker than water. Family is about time investment, work and compassion. You love someone for everything they are as well as for what they are not.Family has changed over the last fifty years and we usually hear about this in such a negative fashion but what if it were a good thing? Years ago the biggest responsibility a man had was financially based. A man's success as a father was measured monetarily not by time spent.
My theory, the family unit is growing stronger. More is demanded from parents and maybe that is a good thing. We have to get our hands dirty and compete with the Internet and texting. I welcome the challenge.
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