What is family?

I often write and post photos of my family on here and Facebook.   With nieces and nephews I also have greats.  So I refer to Chelsea, Bella, Jack and Mallie Belle and Sarah and Carrie (Chris side) as great nieces and nephew.

Jamey, Jessie, Tanner, Amber and Colton are referred to as nieces and nephews.

I've had a couple people from not around here (not southern) ask why I said great nieces on some posts about Chelsea and Bella and on another post about great nephew Jack.

I explained their parents are my nieces/nephews so they are my nieces and nephew once removed.  Thus great niece or great nephew.  I'm their great aunt.

From left back: Great niece Chelsea, nephew Tanner, me, great niece Mallie Belle, nephew Jamey, niece Jessie. Front: great nephew Jack an great niece Bella

My great nieces Chelsea and Bella are my nephew Jamey's daughters.   

My great nephew Jack and great niece Mallie Belle are my niece Jessie's kids.

Another person last summer from several states away said "aren't all nieces great?" after a post on a couple of the greats.  I didn't think about it then but he probably didn't know what I was referring to either.

Seems up North or certain other places I've traveled or known people from identify family in different ways.  Ask them who is in their family and they mostly tell you that they have brother and or sisters,  parents and grandparents.   Just immediate family.  Maybe they do not have extended families as we do. Or just normally do not include them in general conversation.

In most of East TN, or at least Monroe Count and surrounding areas when asked about who's in our family we'll include the general immediate family.   But also aunts, uncles, great aunt and uncles, cousins and second cousins, sometimes third or fourth.  People in our area love family and want to claim as many relatives as can be thought of.

We also speak of families as either "his side of the family" or "her side of the family.

For example, I have around 30 first cousins on my mom's side of the family.  On my daddy's side I have around 20 first cousin.  (Notice something? I referred to them as first cousins. It's import to distinguish first,  second, third and so on when talking about your family.

Relatives that have died are still referred to in discussions about family.  And counted among the number of family members.

I have a cousin I usually say this about: "my second cousin on my daddy's side died of breast cancer when she was only 26."

It's funny to think about the ways family is called and looked upon so differently depending on where you are from.  I love that I'm from Monroe County,  Tennessee and I love claiming as many relatives as I can.

My niece Amber and her brother,  my nephew Colton. Niece Tressa and her two daughters, our great nieces not in photo.  

(These are Chris' s side of family.)