Family of Choice / Second Chance Family

A friend of mine sent me a video today that touched my heart. It reminded me of "rebuilding families."

A huge part of recovering from family estrangement is building a "Family of Choice." Or, as Mark Sichel calls it, a "Second Chance Family."

Family cut-offs are huge losses. Even if our relationship(s) was stressful, there is no way around mourning this sort of "death:" our history... what could have been... what should have been... and what was not.

We mourn as we rebuild until the rebuilding out-weighs the mourning.

After my family estrangement, I began to fill my Holidays and other family traditions with my new "family" of choice." Once I'd healed enough to be emotionally present with my new "family," I relished in the experience of walking amongst these people and feeling love in the air.

Given my personal experience, videos about animals creating inter-species relationships/family groups intrigue me: