by Stefanie | 05.20.22

We’ve got a lot of choices to make in life. 

Our home girls Rue, Bea, Estelle and Betty (may they rest in peace) showed us how it’s done. If you’re not familiar with The Golden Girls, stop reading right now, cancel all plans for the next few days and get ready for an epic binge experience. What’s that? You can’t crawl under a rock and ignore life right now? Then here’s the very quick lowdown, just for you.

Four older women from totally different backgrounds, Dorothy, Blanche, Rose,and Sophia find themselves single and living in Miami. They learn to lean on each other and come to realize that family is what you choose, not just what you are born into. Oh, and also that even life’s most serious problems can be solved by talking it out over frozen cheesecake.

Family is certainly a special bond, and luckily it’s not one that is limited to biology.  Your chosen family doesn’t have to be a replacement for the family you already have. It can be an additional and often more easily accessible source of the love we all need to feel. 

Of course, finding these close bonds is sometimes easier said than done. We all lead busy lives and kindred spirits don’t just fall into our laps. Well, who said family is only made up of human best friends? Pets are integral and irreplaceable parts of our families,  and often provide the sweetest and purest source of unconditional love. Time Magazine published a great article about pets and their impact on our mental health (read it here!). It’s a great place to start if you still need some convincing.

The take-away here is that family is what you make it, not what you happen to be born into. Surround yourself with those who will stand by your side and lift you up when you need it - and be that person for the ones you love. As The Golden Girls theme song says, “and if you threw a party, and invited everyone you knew. You would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend!”