Have you heard of the Man Repeller Writers Club? Every month we pose a story idea, you write about it and then send it to us ([email protected]) with the subject line “MR Writers Club.” We go through all submissions and post the winner on the first Saturday of every month. Ready? Let’s go.
I’ve never been good at casual bonds. My life can be mapped by a string of best friends, each of whom my close-knit family of five considered, at one point, to be “our sixth.” Even if it didn’t last, I’ve always been smitten with that kind of intimacy, the kind that felt as deep and unshakeable literal sisterhood. Maybe that’s why I’ve stumbled around friendships a bit in my adult life, often failing to maintain anything that wasn’t everything, and wishing that weren’t the case. I’m still learning to forgive myself for that.
As I get older, though, I’m becoming more accepting of my approach. I do see the allure of an extensive cast of characters buzzing around, I’ve just never managed to maintain one myself. I find the concept of family too comforting. Whether applied literally or figuratively, it carries an undertone of acceptance that doesn’t exist elsewhere. She may be flawed, but she’s family. Come along, we consider you part of the family. I’d do anything for him, he’s like family. We’ll get through it, we’re family.
Relationships that don’t carry that kind of weight fail to keep my attention for long. Isn’t the possibility of impossible closeness so much more inviting? For this month’s writers club, explore those kinds of bonds in your life, and how they came to feel like family despite your DNA saying otherwise. In 500 words or less, tell me about your chosen family. Did you find them? Did they find you? What have these connections felt like? Send your story to write [at] manrepeller [dot] com by 12 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 28th.
Thanks, as always, for those who write in. I read (and am touched by) them all.
Feature image by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images.
