We are a family...

Be careful of the metaphors you use, because their meaning differs from person to person.

Growing up, my family was a standard nuclear family: Mum & Dad, sister and me. Modest house, modest (for the time and place) lifestyle, loving family (we had our fights and arguments but there was not torture or abuse)

So when you say we're a family at <insert name of organization> the above are the associations I am likely to make. But not all families are like my family

The Borgia were a family in Renaissance Italy. Their name has become a byword for murder and incest

The Mafia calls itself The Family

The Manson family are famed for their murder of actress Sharon Tate (plus four others that night) and many others

What was your family like?

So when you say we're a family, what family are you referencing?