Freak of the family
THEY: Are up each moring before 6 a.m. They’ve always been early risers.
ME: Typically arise abit before son does — about 8 a.m. ish. (So NOT a morning person!)
THEY: Go to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m.
ME: Am usually up until 12 or 1 a.m.
THEY: Have no desire to ever leave the rural farming community where our ancestors established roots.
ME: Couldn’t wait to get out.
THEY: Are staunch, life-long Catholics.
ME: My beliefs fall more along the lines of Judaism. (I think I gave my dad a small stroke when I recently told him I don’t consider myself a Catholic nor a Christian.)
THEY: Are conservative pro-lifers. (But would never adopt.)
ME: Liberal, pro-choice and would like to adopt.
THEY: Rarely travel. None have ever been on a commercial airplane.
ME: LOVE to travel. Did someone say “vacation?” In another country? SCORE!
THEY: Buy used vehicles and sell every few years. And they keep them immaculate.
WE: Buy a vehicle new, drive it forever and basically? Its a big garbage dump on wheels.
THEY: Don’t like spicy food.
ME: The spicier the better.
THEY: Typically don’t keep candy/snacks in the house.
ME: We usually have at least one baked good, some ice cream, and several kinds of candy in the house.
THEY: Know exactly what they are going to be doing at 5:45 p.m. four Saturdays from now.
ME: I have no idea what I’ll be doing 15 minutes from now.
THEY: Are very structured, disciplined people. My parents could time their own bowel movements.
ME: Fly by the seat of my trackpants.
THEY: Very neat and tidy. Homes are very clean.
ME: Dirty dishes, clutter and dust? All a part of life. The beds rarely get made. (But on the whole the place is usually picked up.)
THEY: LOVE Wal-Mart.
ME: Despise Wal-Mart. (But I sure do love me some Target!)
THEY: Love country music.
ME: Keep the station at 101.1 The River (Thanks Melissa for the head’s up.)
THEY: Are my parents and siblings.
ME: Well, duh.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the way my parents and siblings live their lives. They are very practical, disciplined people. I admire that. Course I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the way I live my life either. (Even though my parents would disagree.) But I ask you… HOW can a child be so different from his or her family? If I didn’t look like my parents and siblings, I would bet everything I was adopted.
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By Linlee, January 8, 2007 @ 8:18 pm
I had to laugh when I read this because you and I are alot alike. I agree with all your “me’s”. Only difference is my mom moved my dad from the farm to STL (she should have taken you too)…lolol
By Alissa, January 8, 2007 @ 9:11 pm
I am more like my parents than my brothers are, but none of us really are. They are just more out there, I just went in an entirely different direction. Fortunately for me, my family is of the “love you for what you are” variety, and everyone gets along. I wish all families were like mine.
By Lisa Goldstein/Kelly Kelly, January 8, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
I really enjoyed this post. Very funny and very insightful. And boy, I could do one of my own like this one too!
It’s funny how different we turn out to be from our parents, and then again, it’s funny to see how we turn out to be the same too…..aaack.
Lisa
By Hulai, January 9, 2007 @ 12:43 am
its ok its a night and day difference between my father and I! Crazy huh?
By debra, January 9, 2007 @ 1:09 am
I totally understand! My family and I are practically identical to yours (except we ALL hate Wal-Mart).
I spend most of the holidays biting my tongue, avoiding conversations, and doing a lot of screaming in my head.
By Oh, The Joys, January 9, 2007 @ 1:16 am
So what was that like, being so different and growing up there? Tell us the story… (okay, tell ME the story. Please.)
By Mrs. Chicky, January 9, 2007 @ 1:54 am
Maybe they were a bit lax with their rules and you were adopted?
By Anonymous, January 9, 2007 @ 2:09 am
So, so familiar.
I am a black sheep as well.
I’m lucky that my immediate family loves me for who I am, but the extended family isn’t quite sure what to think of the way I live.
By Heidi, January 9, 2007 @ 2:10 am
Aw, crap.
That last Anonymous was me.
By Mayberry, January 9, 2007 @ 4:14 am
Hee! I am YOU most of the time too. Luckily, my parents and siblings are much more like me. Except for the part where they are WAY more healthy eaters and exercisers than I am. Oops.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Nice to meetcha!
By Marcus (Da Hub), January 9, 2007 @ 5:48 am
I cant really join the black sheep support group. I am my parents child. This is something of which I am both proud and more than a little frightened of. My sister could better claim black sheep status although personally I think her apple doesnt fall very far from the tree as she might think.
I do love my black sheep wifey though. And I will also love my in-laws but I am pretty confident she would not be my wife if she had toe’d the family line instead of going her own way.
By Samantha, January 9, 2007 @ 6:04 am
I wonder EVERY day how I turned out soooooooo differently from my sister and my mother!
By Jennifer, January 9, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
I think sometimes you’re so different BECAUSE of the way your family is. I also wonder how I got into my family sometimes when I go back for a visit, and they’re all up and busy by 8am. I would sleep until 11am every day if I could. And don’t even get me started on the “food” they eat. I will never eat canned veggies or iceberg lettuce in my adult life! I’d rather starve than eat another spoonful of watery mashed potatoes! Bleh!!
I love my family very much. just not sure what planet they adopted me from.
By mammacheryl, January 9, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
All of us kids have aspects of my parents’ personalities, but for the most part, we each have a black sheep persona. Except my oldest brother; he’s freakishly “normal.” We’ve developed a wonderful “Let’s not talk about that” attitude on almost everything, from Ann Coulter to Kenneth Copeland. I love my parents, but I’m glad I’m not just like them.
By jennster, January 10, 2007 @ 6:17 am
i love you. but i love country music too! lol
By Stephanie A., January 10, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
As we’ve discussed before, I can completely identify with you on this one. And, aside from the one about the sweets in the home (I never keep anything that will make me gain more than a pound if I down all of it at once), the same could be said of my family and me.
By Nancy, January 10, 2007 @ 6:06 pm
Heh, I just drove by the old abode on N 2nd street today.
By Pattie, January 10, 2007 @ 9:55 pm
Ok Lisa..I am freaked out right about now….other than the not making the bed thing, I TOTALLY could have written this post! WOW!!! Were we separated at birth????
By Mommy off the Record, January 11, 2007 @ 1:12 am
You’re not alone! I often feel like the freak of my family when it comes to some things. My Dad is a staunch Catholic so I like to tease him about my belief in reincarnation. It’s funny to see him get all upset and flustered. LOL
By Anonymous, January 11, 2007 @ 1:22 am
I think I just heard the whole county gasp. There will probably be a write up in the County Lines section.
Christine
By Slackermommy, January 11, 2007 @ 3:40 am
I’m a rebel too right down to stupid things like letting my kids play outside barefoot. We got spanked if we did that as kids.
By Reba, January 11, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
I am almost exactly like my dad, but the opposite of all my siblings. We all have fun together and I honestly think that is because of our differences.
By Anonymous, January 12, 2007 @ 9:20 pm
Lisa, while this post might identify your family, some things are different. As your soon to be sister-in-law, your brother lived this type of life before I came along. Since then I have totally changed his eating habits, in fact, the only thing healthy in our pantry are the orange Hi-C drink boxes I drink to give me Vitamin C. We get up early only because we both start work at either 7/7:30 and he has a 45 min. drive, otherwise we are in bed sleeping until the dog barks to go outside. As far as the traveling goes, I am working on it. Its a work in progress and plus we are a little short on the dough since we are planning a wedding, building a house, and I decided to go work on my Master’s, as soon as we play those intial bills, vacation here we come. In fact, we both need a vacation so far away from this place it crazy. And if you walked into our new place, I would first require you help me carry more boxes upstairs so that I can work on my tower of boxes to unpack, then you could see the piles of clothes that need to be washed, as well as, the dishes. So while some things may hold true, we are not the norm. But I will say that your brother’s faith is very important to him and it’s something I admire him for. See ya soon!
Your future sister-in-law
By Kathy, December 13, 2007 @ 3:37 am
Lisa,
I just started reading your blog. I alway knew you had talent but this blog is great. I was looking the black sheep post and had to laugh. I guess I am a hybrid. I get up early(5:00am) but go to bed late(midnight). I don’t want to live outside the county but love to travel. I am a pretty good Catholic, and prolife, and would adopt. Let’s not even talk about vehicles as mine is always dirty. My house will never be as clean as my mother’s and I love spicy food and of course anything with chocolate. The last time I stopped at your mom’s she had homemade chocolate chip cookies for my kids(something they only get at my house around Christmas) I’ve become more disciplined out of necessity, 2 kids, a husband, and a full time job. I am a Target junkie and I listen to everything from 92.3 to 107.7. I never did learn to shut up so here’s my mantra: The world’s a big place and my theory has always been that there’s room for everybody with a good heart. I don’t care what type of God you worship, or if you worship, or how you vote, or what you wear, as long as care about others and leave the world a better place than you found it,then you can never be a black sheep.