Regular readers of my blog and website will know that I identify as a Canadian; I was born in Canada, I have spent most of my life living in Canada (except a few years in Upstate New York), and I generally celebrate Canadian holidays. This doesn't mean that I don't honor and respect other holidays, especially the closest neighbor of Canada - America - especially considering my paternal family's deep roots in America that, in some cases, predate the founding of The United Stat

This may seem like an easy question, but I beg to differ. Although the dictionary definition of "family" is defined as "a group of people who are related to each other", this definition doesn't quite cut it; at least to me. When I was a kid growing up in the 1970s, there were a number of people closely involved in my life that I called aunt, uncle or cousin, but several of these people were not related to me by either blood or by marriage. These people were very close family