Once upon a time, I had no extended family. My parents didn't speak to their parents or siblings or cousins for many years. And us kids didn't have relationships with them either. Not hard to believe that we continued the cycle (except I speak with my brother's son regularly on Facebook.)
Not too long ago, my oldest long-time friend was my X from 1992. Lulu came along in 1994. I'd left behind my friends from high school and before.
Then Facebook happened. Old friendships were rekindled. And my 20-year class reunion happened. Although I hadn't spoken to many people there, I reconnected with one gal, Ro, who has become, in the past 2.5 years, one of my best and most trusted friends. We'd be friends in school, but somehow, we just clicked. She's never married and no kids, so our lifestyles mesh well.
Despite some initial trust issues, there is now a group of us, about 10, that are tight. Interestingly enough, it's me and my senior year boyfriend and my bestie from school and her junior year boyfriend, plus ALL of our spouses and Ro.
As we've gotten older, it's become apparent to us that we NEED our old friends. The more we've changed over the past 20+ years, the more we've stayed the same. We give support, we remember the little things, we laugh about stupid stuff that our spouses don't know about. And we don't judge.
We are each in different places in our lives, but it works Hubby and I are the only grandparents, both our kids are grown and gone. R&J have a teenage son who is severely autistic (and functions as a toddler) and their daughter is off at college. F&D have 3 kids, the oldest becomes a teenager this year and the youngest starts school in September. Ro has 2 dogs, one is double-digits, the other is a puppy.
We have become a real family. We chat, text, post on FB, meet for lunch and shopping, have girls' nite, enjoy bonfires, create parties out of life events (birthdays, baby showers, kid-leaving-for-college, etc.) Sometimes, it's just 2 of us, sometimes it's all. Or somewhere between.
Once upon a time, I had no extended family. Now, I have the one I married into (thanks to hubby!) and the one created with my friends.