The people in my family are…

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The people in my family are…

The people in my family are weird. No, seriously. I told you before that I LOVE characters—and I think that’s why God put me in a family full of them! Growing up, I didn’t necessarily appreciate the very different personalities of my brothers and sisters. Now, as an adult, it amazes me how talented and unique each one of them is.

In honor of my family of characters, I thought I’d do something a little different this time. Instead of writing, I thought I’d tell you eight brief things and let you try to guess which one of your aunts, uncles, parents, or grandma each statement belongs to. I’ll print the answers on the back of this page—but don’t cheat! Try to guess and see how many you get right!

1. Was once airborne and would have blown away if a sibling hadn’t been holding his/her hand.
2. Can belch “Ralph was here to see you,” or something outrageous like that.
3. Has had at least two fake heads in his/her possession over the course of his/her life (the first one had hair; the second…not so much).
4. Owns a kilt.
5. Once went on a mission to find the best onion rings in Marquette.
6. Tried to flush a sibling down the toilet.
7. Saran-wrapped a truck, a car, and a house together.
8. Has no belly button.

All my love,

Aunt Sarah

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Sunday, February 13, 2011

The people in my family are… ANSWERS

Was once airborne and would have blown away if a sibling hadn’t been holding his/her hand.

This is your Uncle Jesse! He was staying at a friend’s house during a terrible storm (I think we actually had a tornado), and Mom sent me over to find him. We ran home together hand-in-hand, and I looked over and he was just floating along beside me!

 

Can belch “Ralph was here to see you,” or something outrageous like that.

Yep. That would be your Grandma! I’ve never actually heard it, though…it’s more of an urban legend in our family.

 

Has had at least two fake heads in his/her possession over the course of his/her life (the first one had hair; the second…not so much).

This is your Uncle Joel! He acquired the first head at a Christian Bible College (why those Christian students had fake heads, I don’t know). I’ve no idea where he and his wife found the second one, but when I saw it, I knew we had a trend on our hands.

 

Owns a kilt.

This is your Uncle Jeremiah! I can’t explain it, really, except that he wanted one, so he received one for Christmas. We do have a Scottish heritage, though, so it’s not totally weird…

 

Once went on a mission to find the best onion rings in Marquette.

This is your Aunt Maggie! She and her boss apparently had a whole system worked out by which they judged onion rings. Can you blame them? A good onion ring is hard to come by.

 

Tried to flush a sibling down the toilet.

This is your Uncle Steve! I think he said she cried too much and just wanted her to “go away.”

 

Saran-wrapped a truck, a car, and a house together.

This is your Aunt Sarah! Yep. I can’t deny it. I used one thousand feet of plastic wrap. And it was my Pastor’s house and vehicles.

Has no belly button.

This is your Aunt Kristin! She had it surgically removed.

When You’re Not Looking

In the search for our roots, our ancestors and the stories of their lives, it’s easy to think we know what we’re looking for. We have a name and a birth date, after all. I’m learning, however, that sometimes the most valuable pieces of an ancestors’ life are unearthed in day-to-day conversation–not in family history interviews.

For example, I’ve been asking my mother about her dad (who died several years before my birth). She has told me some wonderful things about his life, his ministry, his talents. But during our time away for Steven’s wedding, my brother, mother, and I were discussing strange foods and types of foods we didn’t particularly like. And out of this random, entertain-the-long-moments-of-our-drive time together, mom remembered that her father always wanted Oyster Soup on Christmas Eve.

It was tradition, she said–though why, or how it came to be, she hadn’t a clue. Every Christmas Eve, Grandpa S. would direct the children’s program at the church, and then the family would come home for Oyster Soup and Christmas cookies. He was the only one who ate the Oyster Soup.

It is not a story I was looking for. It does, however, add some color to my Grandfather’s life.

But as the family history search goes, one piece of incredible information, one enlightening story, one tiny tidbit that surfaces when we least expect it–not only excites and illuminates the search, but also births a dozen infant questions.

Perhaps they, too, will be answered…when I’m not looking.