** Disclosure :: City Moms Blog Network has received information and materials from McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the makers of TYLENOL®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post.

The Traditional Family. Take a moment to let that term sink in and define what that means.

Sinking in…sinking in…sinking in…

Ready to define it yet? It’s not as easy of a task as it might seem. If you’re like me, you go straight to the 1950’s era of the June Cleaver, Norm Rockwell-esque picture of the two parents (mom and dad) with 2.5 kids, a dog, a cat, dinner on the table at 5pm, and the white picket fence. Or you might go straight to your Pinterest board to look up “family photos” and see families with perfect white teeth, matching clothes, all set against a backdrop of the ocean, a tree, or a fireplace.

Now, try to tell someone what your idea of the traditional family is, and my assumption is that you will be told you have it all wrong. The traditional family has never really truly existed. Back in the 50’s, our society was given the image of what family should look like…through advertisements, commercials, TV shows…and our society held on to this norm and accepted it as truth. However, fast forward to the late 20th century, with post-modern philosophy to now with vast acceptance and celebration of every single lifestyle, family dynamic and structure, no longer does the preconceived notion of traditional family hold up.

So now, once again take a moment to let the term traditional family sink in. Once you debunk the idea that a truly definable traditional family exists, and that everyone is living out their definition of “traditional”, the only place to land is to define yourself and understand that your family is what you make it.

What will YOU define as traditional?

If a photographer were in your home right now to capture the essence of traditional, what would that picture look like?

Back in 2010, my family (parents, sister, husband – my brother-in-law and kids were not in the picture yet) sat down in the middle of Steak ‘n Shake, ate burgers and fries, and came up with the top 10 terms that define us as a family. What do we want to be known for? If someone looked at the Smiths/Hendricks, how would they define our family? From there we narrowed down our top four, and eventually narrowed it down to one term, and because my family loves this kind of stuff, my stepmom designed a family creed.

But beyond that, we were each charged to go home and decide for our own families what these terms would be. How would we define our families for the future children we would add to them? In today’s social media terms, what would our #hashtag be? “We are the Hendricks, and this is #HowWeFamily.”

Have you done this with your family? No matter the family dynamic, or how traditional or ”un-traditional” your family is, we each get the opportunity to determine #HowWeFamily.

The last time my husband and I did this was five years ago, on the plane ride back from that trip with my family. As you can image, 2.5 kids later (literally) our ideals about what a family looks like has changed quite a bit. And I can guarantee our list looks very different from your list…and it definitely can’t be summed up in a few simple words.

So here’s what our list looks like today, June 2015:

>> We say “I love you” to each other like it’s going out of style.

There is nothing like hearing that you are loved, no matter the time or place.

>> Our home is built on a foundation of faith.

It drives our every decision. It’s the backbone to our way of doing and surviving life.

>> We are quick to forgive, each other and ourselves.

My husband and I argue in front of the kids, and make up in front of the kids. We aren’t afraid to show our true selves, as long as part of that truth is showing grace to each other and to ourselves for the mistakes we make.

>> We love the adventure of life.

Not the backpacking, sky-diving kind of adventure, but more of experiencing the adventure of life and all the twists and turns that come with it. Persevere through the ebbs, count our blessings in the flows.

>> We gather and eat together.

We eat meals in front of the TV, around the coffee table most nights. Gasp! How very un-traditional of us! But, we’re still sitting at a table, gathered around it, and talking with each other.

>> We’ve got our own catch phrases.

We say things like “you better check yourself before you wreck yourself” and “that’s just how the cookie crumbles”.

>> We eat healthy, but LOVE fast food.

We aren’t health freaks and we eat our fair share of processed foods. We love McDonald’s and greasy pizza. You pick your battles.

>> We take lots of pictures of everything.

We love capturing the big and small moments. At the end of the year, I print all of our photos in one book so we have a time capsule for that year in our life!

>>We embrace technology and see it as the way of the future.

My kids both have an iPad and watch crazy YouTube videos about My Little Ponies and superheroes. But they’re also advancing their vocabulary skills and learning how to navigate the technology that will be part of their education.

>> We believe laughter is truly the best medicine.

We realize that life is our one opportunity to enjoy the blessings of this world and we need to make the most of every day. If we don’t live a seemingly exciting, adventurous, out-of-the-box type of lifestyle, we are content to just live in the day to day, as long we are together, and as long as we are laughing.

So now it’s your turn. As you read through my list, you might have identified with at least a few, or you might be thinking, “Eat in front of the TV?? Never!”…or “Take pictures of everything your kids do?? Put down the camera, take away their iPad, and be present!” If that’s what you do, then put it on your list!

It’s really a fun exercise to determine #HowWeFamily. I would encourage you to sit down together as family and narrow it down to a few things that will determine how you navigate life. If your kids are old enough, include them, too. Sitting in that Steak ‘n Shake and coming up with a family creed was a truly bonding experience for us. And it’s no surprise that the foundation from that creed – faith – is the foundation for my family’s creed. When your family knows its definition, its place in the world, its purpose, it naturally carries on to the next generation. And that’s where the tradition starts.

TYLENOL® would love to hear about how you family. Post or share a photo or video of what represents your family love and pride using the #HowWeFamily hashtag on Twitter or Instagram. You can also visit #HowWeFamily to learn more and see other great family stories.

#HowWeFamily

This post is brought to you by the wonderful folks at TYLENOL®.