Family Bush
I am deeply fascinated with my family’s history, so I took it upon myself to enlighten my children about our family tree. One day my son retorted, “This is not a family tree; this is a family bush.”
He was right. I was married three times and had a child from two of my three husbands. My ex-husbands had other children. So our family “tree” branches out in chaotic and weird ways. My two sons are half-brothers, and each of them has other half-siblings. With mathematics all around them, my sons decided to quantify their family connections: they named a half-sister of a half-brother a quarter-sister.
I didn’t have any children with my first husband, Alexander. But he remarried after our divorce and had two children. I’ve never met Alexander’s offspring, but my children hang out with them. Go figure! This is not just because the world is too small; rather, my exes are mathematicians and work with each other. So, theoretically, if Alexander and I had a common child, Alexander’s children would have been quarter-siblings to my sons. In real life, we didn’t have a child. Still, can my sons call Alexander’s children virtual quarter-siblings?
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Mark:
The term “cross-sibling” exists to describe this situation. I like quarter-sibling, too!
2 June 2023, 2:01 am