Actions speak much louder than words.
Someone who stands up and stands beside you in tough times, really loves you. After our middle son died, many who we thought were friends drifted away. They couldn’t handle it or us, I’m not sure what happened. But people we didn’t know well stood by and stayed with us. Their friendship was undeniable. In blended families, when a stressful situation arises, standing by one another makes your love undeniable. You may not have felt like family before the stressor but the proof is in the pudding.