Conversation

Periodic holiday reminder to LGBTIQ+ folk with difficult family relationships that another interpretation of "blood is thicker than water" is "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb", meaning that chosen families based on shared bonds, adversity, etc., can be considered to be more important than classic familial relationships – you don't have to subject yourself to toxic holiday encounters just because "family", since other forms of family are equally valid.