HELLO everyone! Well we’re nearly there...January is practically over!

For most, pay day is this week, and while we might have miserable weather

but at least people will have a few quid in their pockets.

My month has not been too bad, I’ve been working at the Ardgowan Hospice which is amazing, I’ve got a few big plans in action and I also got a new handbag – always a bonus!

However, those trainers I bought are still in the box. At least the thought was

there...Well this week I want to talk about something we’ve all got. We might love them or loathe them, they might get on our nerves from time to time and sometimes, they change. Families.

Here in Inverclyde we have adapted an, “Oh aye, her? She’s my cousin” policy.

By this I mean that we’re all in the mindset that if it’s your dad’s pal then he can be your uncle or if it’s your friend who you have known your whole life then she’s your second cousin. I guess really that raises the question, do you need to be blood relatives to be considered family members?

The girls in ‘Sex and the City’ say family can be a choice and it’s the ones who you love the most. Then again, they were always drunk on Cosmopolitan cocktails. But it does make you think, in this century families don’t always follow the mother, father and children route.

There are step/half mothers, fathers, siblings, kids are fostered and adopted, brought up by grandparents...the list is really endless.

Back in the day, everyone had a very stereotypical approach – what was socially unacceptable then is completely normal now. I love my family, of course, but I guess I consider other people as family too.

I’ve got aunties that aren’t really relations, I have family I’ve met once but still consider them related, I’ve got all the kids at ‘Friends4Ever’ who I view as one large extended family and I’ve got people who I’ve known so long they feel like family.

Some people may think that it’s silly to include people out with your direct relations as related, but nowadays family can mean more than having the same genes.

Many people are finding their family circumstances change and move with the times, families are getting larger but not because of the addition of siblings.

I personally think it’s nice that we’re so diverse and each family is unique. Big families are good for many Christmas presents...but good luck with the wedding bills when they come!