I spent most of the week away from my home, helping family members with home renovations. My family is very verbal, and often verbal sarcasm is the default form of communication.

As my nephew and I painted we talked of many things and I got thinking about how we interact, agree, disagree, and what this family would look like to someone stepping in and watching.

These definitions by Doug Muder were timely as I’ve pondered some of my family or origins style of communicating. Family is fluid, each style of family has merit, and neither is right or wrong or less loving. Nor are families  either/or, it is rare any family group (either inherited or family of choice such as church, temple or synagogue are rarely  just one kind) I think these models help us understand some of the social and politicised conflicts in today’s society, as they bump against each other in ‘value’ politics.

via: Street Prophets