As the great philosopher Stitch would say, "Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." Hawaiian culture itself reinforces this: family is those who care for one another.

The 2022 Census laid bare the expansion of the concept of family in Brazil. It shows us that almost 1 in 5 families is a single-parent household and that practically half of all homes are headed by women.

The outdated idea that family only fits into the "father, mother, and children" format (which is no longer even the standard) gives way to a myriad of other configurations. All of them deserve the same respect and protection from society, because, in the end, family is who cares for you.

And it is in this diversity that we find true strength. Families with two mothers, two fathers, single parents, grandparents raising grandchildren, aunts and uncles caring for nieces and nephews... All are founded on the essential: affection and mutual commitment.

This magnificent drawing in the post is the representation of our family, through the eyes of my youngest daughter, Sophia.

She drew us: my wife Lisiane (always in a denim skirt and, according to Sophia, floating), Maria (Sophia's sister), Sophia herself, and me (wearing the dress she affectionately calls "marshmallow"). The details are everything!

I know that to some it is just a drawing, but to me it materializes a truth: love and care are the true meaning that guides a family, much more than any picture-perfect "margarine commercial." Here we have spontaneous proof of how protected and welcomed Sophia feels at all moments of her life, no matter which of her mothers she is with.

#Family

#TwoMoms

#AChildsPerspective