Mary seems to benefit from both poles of emphasis: she is a virgin and a mother. While she was a wife to Joseph, such was in terms of partnership and as a confidant, caring for the domestic needs of the home. Few couples embrace a Joseph-Mary celibate love all throughout their marriages; however, while rare, some do make and keep such pledges. I knew of a couple who tried to live such a life as a special sacrificial offering to God. They made this promise before a priest and the day came a year later that they returned to see the pastor at the rectory so that they might be released from their sacrificial vow. They came to discern that God willed that they now embrace the physical and life-giving joys of their bond. The priest sent them home with his blessing.
Mary and Joseph perpetually lived out their chaste and celibate love in honor of the Christ who was the center of their home. The many brethren and sisters, actually cousins, insured that Jesus had many playmates as a child. The extended family life in the time of Christ was very different from the nuclear families of today. Households often included aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. The family meant everything and everyone worked and played together. Such would probably play a formative role in how Christ would relate to his apostles and disciples.
He was truly part of a human family.
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