Another Crazy Happy Family

And then there is my mother’s family– (Last week was my bunch.) As both our parents were highly intelligent, we are all brilliant (if I do say so myself – but I think most people are; they just don't know it) and most of us think with both our left (logic) and right (creative) brains*. I suspect because my siblings and I created creativity – at home and often in our schools – and creativity is good for the brain. We were drawing as soon as we could sit at a table. One of our teachers (rudely) asked my mother one day if all her kids ever did was draw pictures (which we didn’t). One sibling taught himself how to play a guitar, another to play a piano and that’s just the start of it. Almost all of us are either artistic or musical and many of us are both. There is joy in creating, whether it’s music, sewing, art, decorating, or creating a mud town for your mini cars to drive in. We also have a great sense of humor (I think it's hereditary / a behavior pattern.) We were a relatively happy lot.

Some of our quirkiness came out in how we dressed. Some of us went to the local Salvation Army clothes pantry – back in the day when you could find the coolest stuff, including fur coats – and we proudly wore the quirkiest of our finds. Several of us could embroider, so our clothes became a work of art. We were a wee bit ahead of our time – and some of us were rebellious about it. A couple of my sisters got suspended for wearing their school uniform skirt too high (they rolled up the waist). The suspension wasn’t for the short skirts though; it was for the midi length skirts they wore on the next “free dress” day just to spite the nuns. Apparently, the nuns were properly “spited” (i.e. the suspension).

We spent a fair amount of time at the beach or running free in the neighborhood. That freedom gave us a sense of self, I think, and a creativeness born of not having a lot of toys or gadgets but letting creativity help raise us. While we've had our goofiness and fun (Pig-Elephants and Melly-wampum), we’ve all excelled in our schooling, jobs, businesses, and parenting or mentoring, and now the second half of the ten children are nearing retirement. Though time is catching up to us, we love getting together more than ever, and laughter is a big part of it. Unconditional love and laughter. That’s what we all need. (Although I don’t recall anyone memorizing lines from movies like my bunch. We are more likely to quote something from a book.)

Be yourself! Wear that weird shirt you bought fifteen years ago but haven’t had the courage to wear. Stand in the wind with your arms spread out to take it in and don’t worry about who’s looking. Skip instead of walk! This life is too short to worry about what other people will think of the hat on your head. Live your life and be happy with who you are. And give others the grace to do the same. We are always growing and figuring out who we are, and there is nothing wrong with having some creativity and fun along the way. (Please be respectful of others though and not wear/do anything that will upset, discourage, etc. others. Consider the present company you are in.)

*New discoveries have shown that the left and right brain concept is not considered correct anymore. “Test results showed that people use both hemispheres of the brain and there does not seem to be a dominant side, except for what they are doing at any given moment.” If you are interested in more information on the subject, check out my 1/12/24 “How Dare Science Change” blog: https://cfergbus.wixsite.com/website/post/how-dare-science-change-left-or-right-brainer