Aside from my kids I don't really have any family.

My mother raised me but favored my sister and if there was time left over grudgingly paid attention to me. Wasn't always that way but it put a nice wedge between us that never healed, loved her because she was my mother but there was always a barrier between us.

My father was hoonestly not much more than a sperm donor and he ignored us kids, I always resented him for that even when I tried to develop a relationship with him later in life. When he died it didn't affectt me in the least.

My sister and I haven't talked or seen each other in more than 15 yrs, she holds a grudge against me for how I was when I was younger and not the man I am now...she has met her nieces once and will probably never see them again.

The only relative I have been remotely close to has been my cousin and we keep in touch regularly.

My family is pretty fucked up in ways I couldn't explain if I tried and holding grudges is an art with them. So do I feel related to my relatives? Fuck no and I am better for it.

 

I've been outside the family since I was in the Marine Corps, only had a few visits in all those years. Both my parents are dead, and so is my younger brother. There's just my sister, her family left my immediate family. I visit my wife's family because she wants to go.

 

i'm close to my parents and feel like i'm kind of like them. no brothers or sisters. only other family i'm close with and feel related to are my aunt, uncle and two cousins from my mom's side, and grandma, when she was alive :hs:

 

One side, my fathers, we share serious personality traits like drive and whatnot.

My mothers side, however, is a different story. Physically we have similarities but most of it ends there, I think that it has a lot to do with environmental differences that they were put through over their lifetime.

 

very much so and I feel very fortunate this is the case

I have the least messed up family of anyone I have ever known