I was chatting to a friend here on Hive who has connected far more to his partner's family than his own - they have given him a sense of belonging and being loved far beyond the complicated relationship with his parents. That's not unusual - families can be difficult, and parents don't always get it right, and have their human frailties.

Blood also does not a family make.

My husband is step father to my son, and our grandchild calls him Grandpa. Initially worried that this little boy wouldn't feel connected to him, he now fully embraces his grandparentness, recognising a chance, in a way, to be a proper father figure. He did a good job with my boy but didn't meet him til he was 5, and took a while to embrace the idea that whilst he wasn't a biological father, he still played a role in his life, and was loved, and would be remembered for it. With his grandchild it's more simple. He sees this little boy love him unconditionally, with no awareness of DNA or relationships that should or shouldn't be.

I was lucky enough to have the most wonderful, accepting, beautiful and supportive parents in the world - so much so that when me and my sister's boyfriends split up with us, we swear they were more upset with the loss of my parents. Many of you know I was devastated by the loss of my father and still keenly feel that, knowing I will never feel the sense of love and belonging I felt with him with any other person. Daddy daughter relationships can be quite something else. I'm bloody blessed to at least walk with his ghost.

My sister was a couple of years younger than me, and we couldn't have been more different. I was loud, she was quiet. I had a dog, she had a cat. I loved punk rock and she played the piano. I surfed and rode horses and she - I don't know. From the moment we were born, I adored her, but she wasn't as demonstrative as I would have liked. She's more reserved. She is my sister and I adore her but we didn't have one of those enviably close and intense sister relationships that I would have really liked. It's not her fault - it's just what I needed, she wasn't the type to give. We both enjoy each other's company, have much in common these days, and would do anything for each other, so please don't read this as a negative relationship at all. I love her.

My best friend, who I met at 11 years old, became my soul sister. We've been intensely connected since then, feeling a very powerful bond that we romanticised and fiercely protected, and we are still close to this day. Though it's harder to make friends as you get older, and your connections with people fade, ours has only got stronger. That's us above, watching the waves at dawn a few weeks ago. I feel incredibly lucky to have such a relationship in my life and can't imagine doing without it. She's not blood, but she's very much my sister - she met my intense love with her own.

Arguably the whole human race should be family, looking after one another, but it seems we have an inbuilt tribalism that prevents that, and we only come together in times of disaster. I guess it's a biological imperative to look after the survival of your own DNA, but sometimes it's less scientific than that.

I think most of us understand that deep connections with people are not always about shared DNA. It's about love, acceptance, belonging and connection, and knowing the other person will always be there for you, no matter what.

If you're lucky enough to have that with anyone, shared DNA or not, then you have family.

Share in the comments your stories of family that aren't 'family'.