I'm convinced that when a kid is about to be born, God must pick out a bunch of people who embody every possible trait that gets on the kid's nerves, and then send the kid into that family. "Family" refers to people you can love without even really liking who they are as people. My own siblings, for example, are so different from me in every way that I cannot imagine even knowing them if I were not related to them. My mother can be overbearing and constantly shove me into situations I don't want to be in, but without her, life would be a major mess and I know it. My dad, well, he's made me strong, stronger than any child should have to be. My aunt may scare easily and get mildly hysterical in emergencies, but she can do what needs to be done.

Outside immediate family, thank God for relatives who realise the importance of laughter and for once, I'm glad half the family consists of doctors. At last count, my mum had about twelve doctors hovering around, all relatives with different specialties from surgery to dentistry to psychiatry.