When most people think of starting a family, it’s usually a pretty narrow perspective that they’re thinking through. However, especially with the way modern culture is going, there are more ways than ever to create a family unit, or even just to form a very close circle of people that function the same as having a family unit.
Think of a few ways that this sense of family and closeness can be initiated. You could adopt a child. You and your partner might go through a surrogacy process. For the closeness of family without blood ties, you can get into volunteerism. And, a technique that many people forget about in the grand scheme of things is that you can reach out to your neighbors to get that physical proximity closeness as a part of your daily life.
Adoption
Deciding to adopt a child is one of the ways that many people choose to add to their family. There are a million different reasons that a couple could choose adoption as opposed to natural childbirth or other methods, so it is important not to judge people who are in the situation. Loving parents can take care of an adopted child just as well is a natural child, and there are millions of loving families that operate under this pretense.
Surrogacy
For families that want to choose a different option, there is a way to go through a surrogacy process that creates a situation that is much nearer to a natural birth than adoption. Surrogacy can involve a lot of additional details though. There is the matter of donors, mothers, expenses, and legal contracts. Surrogacy is not for everyone, but the people who do find it to be a good match discover that it is the only way that they can have the feeling toward a new child that they are desiring.
Volunteerism
Outside of the idea of blood relatives or adoptive children, it is possible for people to become heavily involved in volunteerism to get that sense of family. Especially for people that are single and have lots of extra time on their hands, volunteering for the community is a way to establish close daily bonds with some of the people that are closest to you culturally.
Meet Your Neighbors
It’s amazing how many people never take the time to meet their neighbors. There is such an emphasis on nuclear families that sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle that there are people who live right next to you! As long as your neighbors have the same sense of community that you do, you can find that the people right next-door can give you the closest feeling of family that is physically possible, and there are none of the additional hoops to jump through as for other methods.
Originally posted on December 3, 2018 @ 8:10 am
