What is your definition of family?

I remember how excited I was in the Spring of 1987, I had just been hired to be part of the morning show at WPHR Power 108 in Cleveland. I was receiving my staff shirt and the Program Director said "welcome to the family". Somewhere there is a photo of me smiling ear to ear in that shirt with Curt Monday who was the Morning host who really was instrumental in giving me my break and a news person who I can only recall as Dawn. I can't find that photo so here's one from 18 months earlier with my genetic family on the night I graduated High School.

So 18 months after this photo of children suffering bad haircuts was snapped I was welcomed into a new family. It's a family so I knew things wouldn't be perfect. Fights, misunderstandings, jealousies would all pop up, but I expected to live out the rest of my days in Cleveland with my new family at Power 108. But on Christmas Eve, I along with Curt, Dawn, Ray Mariner, Mars Frehley, Jeff Kelly, Tony Rizzo, and some other names I'm forgetting were kicked out of the family. AKA Fired. We weren't even in the family long enough to make the WPHR Wikipedia page once the internet was invented by Al Gore years later. As a matter of fact I never even saw any of my former siblings ever again except for Ray and that was just by accident. The guy who gave me my break's name wasn't even Curt Monday. Turns out his real name was Curt Boykin. I found that out a few years ago in a radio trade magazine announcing his death. What a crappy brother I was to not only not know his real name but that he was dead! 

The point I'm making is that I have been welcomed into dozens of families and escorted from their dwellings through the years. WBLI, WKCI, Universal Records, WQGN, WRUT and so on and so on. Places of employment are not your family. And for those of you arguing that your co workers treat you a lot better then your genetic family I would agree that just because we have the same ancestors it doesn't mean we are family. You can absolutely have people in your life that have no link to you other than you chose them, and they chose you and you are now family. After all that's what a spouse is. Family needs a new definition. I suggest something like "a group of individuals who have made a commitment to support one another even if that requires sacrifice". 

Don't let the emotion of "welcome to the family" allow you to be taken advantage of. We can't just be family 9-5. We are family all the time. Intruding on each other at all times of the day and night. Calling for favors etc. Start calling your new family members about helping you clean the pool or whatever and see what kind of sibling you have there. Of course it usually starts with you making the first sacrifice so show some people you want to be kin with them by loving them sacrificially. But if that love is denied then just move on. They can be pals or coworkers or associates but they're not family.   

I always love to hear your feedback! kellynash_99@yahoo.com