I have a small extended family. The pros and cons include being close-knit, but sometimes wishing for more relatives.

• I have always had a relatively small family, and my kids will have the same experience.
• Though there have been times I've wished for more family members, I am glad for the family I have.

Ever since I was little, I've had a very small family. My father wasn't in touch with his family, and unfortunately, most of my mother's family had passed on.

It was just me, my mom, my dad, my big brother, and my maternal grandmother, who was like a second mother to me. Sadly, my grandmother died when I was just over 10 years old, and our already small family got even smaller.

I'm now married with two children under the age of five. We live too far away from my husband's family and rarely see them, so my children haven't spent much time with them, though we are lucky to live close to my parents and my brother. Still, my children are growing up in a similar way I did — they, too, will have a relatively small family circle.

At times, I've wished for a bigger family

There have been moments, especially during the holidays, when I sometimes wish we had a large family like the ones you see in Hallmark movies. You know the scene — the kind that depicts a family with extra folding tables on standby for all the food they need to feed everyone. These families always have playful arguments about who will host the big Thanksgiving dinner or who will host Christmas, and switch off every year.

I sometimes wish I had cousins, both for myself to have a relationship with and for my children to get to know. I wish my children had little cousins to grow up alongside and play with. And I wish I had aunts to confide in, and in-laws nearby to spoil my children.

But I don't.

And you know what? That's OK. Families come in different shapes and sizes. Mine just happens to be small.

I've realized it's OK to have a small family if our love is strong

Based on my own experiences having a small family, I've been able to focus on each person and form deeper, more meaningful relationships. I might not have been able to do this if I had a big family. Plus, I feel like there might be less drama in a smaller family; however, if there is drama, I do have fewer people to turn to for support. I honestly don't know. All I know is the closer I am to those in my small family, the more grateful I am for them.

For me, since I have a small family, it has given me more awareness of just how important relationships with people are. I am very close with my loved ones, especially because they're all I've had. My family has always been there for me and my children and always will be. I see how important it is to cultivate and form relationships in a healthy way since I have such a small group of people — including both family and friends — that I can turn to. It makes keeping these relationships strong even more important, since, quite frankly, there are only so many people that I can turn to.

I see how important it is to treat people well, because I see the value of keeping the bonds I have in my life strong. I want to know that no matter how small my family is, I have people who love and support me and my children. I know that you have to work to make relationships strong, and I know how important it is to value each family member. I am also lucky to have a small group of friends who have become family to me as well, and I live in a small, close-knit community where we all look out for each other.

Our entire family is very close. I was very close to my maternal grandma; she was like a second mother to me, especially since I had no relationship with my father's mother. I have a strong relationship with my parents and my brother.

My children are also close with their grandparents and their uncle. We live in the same neighborhood, and my five-year-old daughter usually calls her grandparents once a day to visit or take her to the park. My parents watch my four-month-old son so I can work and when my daughter wants her uncle, my brother comes at the drop of a hat to see her.

My husband loves my mother as his own and calls my mom a saint and says he will do anything for her. Our family unit may be small, but it is strong and that's what counts. I want my children to know how much they are loved, and that it's not the size of their family that matters but the strength of the love they have for each other.