Family isn’t only who you’re born near. It’s also the people who keep showing up and never make you ask.

Kinship gets defined by paperwork and proximity, but the thing it is meant to describe is reliability over time. Some people related to you provide that and some do not, while others with no formal claim keep turning up, noticing what you need, never making you ask. Both facts can be true without anyone being blamed.

Make a short list of who has actually been there in the last few years. Treat that list the way you were taught to treat family: with obligation, effort and regular contact. And tell one of them what they have been to you, since they may have no idea.