It’s Easter Sunday once again, and as the daffodils begin to bloom heralding the beginning of spring, the accompanying bank holiday weekend in the United Kingdom and Ireland is being welcomed with open arms.

Last week, as Catholics around the world prepared for their most revered religious holiday, the Pope announced that he would be visiting Ireland in August. The news has given people across Ireland a boost and no doubt tickets for the summer event will be like hen’s teeth by the time it rolls around.

On the last papal visit to Ireland in 1979, Pope John Paul II had come to the island on an official trip. I was but a mere glint in my mother’s eye back then, but I’ve heard stories of the euphoria the trip induced in the population and the excitement, particularly at the time when the troubles were at their highest in the North of the country. And again, one could say that Ireland is under stress again this time around, with Brexit hovering over the island like an irate wasp preparing its sting.

The visit to Ireland this year will be a first for Pope Francis, who announced that he would make the first papal trip to the island in nearly 40 years, visiting Dublin on August 25 and 26 for a church meeting on families. The World Meeting of Families is an international event on the Catholic calendar, which takes place every three years. It will take place in Dublin from August 21-26, with the pope presiding the closing ceremonies on the final two days.

Essentially, the Catholic Church has its image of what a family is, but for me, family can mean anything to anyone, and can be one of the most rewarding and life-affirming relationships we ever have on this earth. Family can mean sitting with a close friend on a cold evening reminiscing about the best times you’ve had together, or it can mean visiting a grandmother, sister or uncle for a cup of tea and an update on their health. There are so many versions of the family today than what we’ve been used to traditionally, and that isn’t such a bad thing. The beauty of the human spirit lies in our ability to adapt to circumstances and bring about love in the most unexpected and different places. Surely that’s to be celebrated today in a world with so much darkness. And at this time of the year, when holidays such as Easter bring families of all shapes and sizes together, it doesn’t matter who defines what a family is, as long as we all have someone to eat with, cry with, laugh with and tell stories with, and of course, much on chocolate eggs with.

The single-parent family was a rarity when I was growing up — our mother being the only parent in our lives. But today, it is more accepted. At the time in Ireland it was quite unusual for a woman to be a divorced single parent. But it was normal for us. One thing our mother taught us was that life was not worth living in misery, and that we should cherish those relationships that are fulfilling and mutually rewarding and to know when to question an unhealthy relationship. Life is hard enough to have rules and regulations over who and what does not constitute a family. It is difficult enough to navigate life.

Our families are what make us who we are; moulding us into the people we are today. And whether we’ve chosen them or not, families are the cornerstone of society and as such, must be reflective of that society.

My job will prevent me from being with my family this year, but I’ll be with them in spirit and through the power of technology, I’ll be able to see them and share in some laughs and some Easter fun. I hope you enjoy some Easter fun too.

Christina Curran is a freelance journalist based in Northern Ireland.