We're a small family so this isn't all that easy.

We've never really been the family who has huge parties where all of the family comes because when all of the family used to be less than 20 people and more than half of those where cousins who I don't really see anymore.

Our family has grown of late with two arrivals due this year and a whole new section of family via my brothers girlfriend so I suppose now, if we got what I would consider the whole family together it would be considerably larger with Jen's Family and all of my sisters boyfriends family we could probably have enough people to rent out a small village hall with a fair amount of excited children.

In my eyes, family is someone whom you share a bond with and by bond I mean that my blood relate sister had a son with her boyfriend and while I've always considered him family, to me, all of his relations (blood or otherwise) are family to me to. Likewise with my brother, (actually stepbrother but they've been in my life since I was two so it seems inaccurate to call them anything else) his previous marriage gave him two daughters and with his girlfriends kids, her family and a new arrival due this spring would give us a very large gathering, that large in fact that a good portion of those I'd call family wouldn't even know each other.

We're also quite spread out now, I was talking with a very good old friend of mine about this just the other day. We got talking about how after high school everyone just sort of disappears and goes there of their own way and while this hasn't greatly affected me (it's common to not keep in touch with school friends) up until last year it seems that with my other brother now moving away to work his dream job we're spreading out even more.

We've always been close otherwise though, not always geographically but in terms of keeping contact and telling each other things and I've always loved that and while that's not changed too much it has become apparent that distance isn't always conducive to keeping close relationships.

It's hard having grown up to close with my sister for her to now be halfway across the country and while I've not had the same relationship with my other brother, I must admit it will be quite strange to not have him around again.

I don't think I had a favourite relative growing up and if I had to pinpoint one, I'd probably say one of the 11 of 12 cousins that I had because we where almost the same age and bonded over boys or something.

Again I'm going to turn the questions back now.

As a kid was there any one relative that you loved more than everyone else, a grandparent or a cool auntie perhaps?

Cheers