As B.C.'s first official Family Day approaches, I can't get that awful song by Sister Sledge out of my head.
I won't repeat the lyrics, lest they end up bouncing around offensively in the heads of readers, but basically it's a song about the strength and importance of family, which is also the message embedded in B.C.'s first official Family Day holiday on Monday.
We all have family, whether it's the one you were born with or the one you chose along the way; most often it's both. Many of us have friends we consider family and family we consider friends.
Some families even like to put little stickers on their car windows to represent the members of their family. Usually the kids are wearing Mickey Mouse ears or kicking a soccer ball. But every so often someone gets creative and slaps on a sticker of a lone, blissfully happy woman with a bunch of cats.
Just like beauty, family is in the eye of the beholder.
According to Statistics Canada, there is no such thing as a typical Canadian family anymore. The Norman Rockwell-esque family with the hardworking dad in the expensive suit, the mom who wears high-heeled shoes in the house and brings him a martini after work, and the son and daughter who run to his side in greeting as he steps through the door at precisely 5: 15 p.m. Monday through Friday is increasingly rare.
It's more likely that dad works later and commutes longer; mom works, too, and maybe even earns more than dad; and the kids are only there on the weekends because they live with their biological mom and her boyfriend during the week.
Data from the 2011 census indicates that married straight couples are in decline and the average family, which was 3.9 people in 1961, is 2.9 people today. (I always find statistics like this weird because I start thinking how grotesque nine-tenths of a person must look.)
The census also found that single parents, common-law couples and same-sex married couples are all on the rise, with the latter up nearly three-fold in five years.
And for the first time, there are more people living alone in Canada than there are couples with children. The census determined that one-person households comprise 27.6 per cent of households. This figure includes seniors, who are living independently longer than ever before, thanks to changing health-care philosophies, community supports and outreach programs.
It turns out the most typical Canadian family is actually a childless (or child-free, depending on your perspective) couple; a whopping 44.5 per cent of families have no kids at home. While it's a blow to the ego to be considered "typical" - I thought I was unique, unusual and perhaps even intriguing - this is actually where I belong, sharing a home with the husband, the dog and some horrid cat we agreed to care for.
But while they have their purpose, statistics are boring. The bottom line is that families come in all shapes, sizes and sexual preferences, and Family Day is a time to celebrate them all.
So here's to you, fellow Canadian families. Whether you're marking Family Day on Feb. 18 like most of the country, or on Feb. 11 like British Columbia, where our government just had to be different, enjoy the day and be proud of who you are.
