It's A Little Odd

Happy Thursday All!

From time-to-time my Thursday posts are like me - short and sweet. This mainly has to do with my lack of things to say on a given topic. This happened a couple of times last year, and is now happening for the first time this year - or so I thought.

This week, the Thursday blog topic was chosen by Sara. She asked us to write about the following: Describe a situation in your life which is totally normal for you, but others may view as strange, or weird, or different.

At first I couldn't think of anything. I was sure there was NOTHING in my life that was normal to me, but was odd to others. I was even prepared to talk about how I love to put syrup on hash browns just so I would have something to write about. See, each and every time I have brunch with someone new I have to forewarn them about this odd behavior preference. Then, just as I was about to go into a short and sweet explanation as to why my post this week was basically non-existent I had my "aha" moment. See, the truth of the matter is that from the day I was born the family dynamic I grew up in has been normal to me, but strange to others.

Here's the deal...

My parents were 24 years apart in age (my father being the oldest between the two of them). Two of my three brothers are actually half brothers who are old enough to be my parents. My oldest brother is my mom's age and my middle brother is 30 years older than me. Then there is my youngest brother who is three years older than me.

My middle brother has two kids - my "older" niece and nephew - who are 3 and 6 years younger than me respectively. My younger brother has two kids as well - my "younger" niece and nephew. Since my youngest brother is 3 years old then me, my younger niece and nephew are the ages one would expect all my nieces and nephews to be.

To make things a little bit more fun, my oldest niece has a son, my great nephew, who is a year younger than my youngest nephew - to the day.

Have I lost you yet? Do you need a scorecard? If so, don't worry, sometimes I feel like I do. If not, let me know where I can send your gold star because you rock!

Now, don't get me wrong. I never thought this was normal in the literal sense of normal. I knew we were different, and strange. However, as life situations and realities go this family dynamic was, and is, normal to me.

It's interesting living the aunt/auntie experience twice. Honestly, though technically I was an "aunt," my older niece and nephew have always been more like friends to me. With my younger niece and nephew, I getting to be Auntie Froggie and have the "auntie" - niece/nephew - relationship you find in "normal" families. When I really think about it, this dual perspective has actually made me appreciate the whole experience of being an auntie more and has made me appreciate my own auntie more.

In addition to having a niece and nephew who are basically my contemporaries, I also have siblings whom are old enough to be my parents. Whenever I'm telling someone I've just met about my family I find myself going into the whole family tree outline, I just shared above, before sharing anything else about them. I haven't quite figured out yet how to tell someone one of my brothers is retired without providing this background knowledge. This age difference also serves to my advantage when I'm seeking out advice from a parent-like figure other than my mom. I know I can turn to my older brothers for advice on things my mom doesn't necessarily have experience with. This is yet another thing I appreciate about my family.

When I was a child I wasn't as confident with my family situation. To some extent I was embarrassed by it; however, as an adult it's just my unique family. In some weird way I think I take pride in our uniqueness. Additionally, along the way I have met one other individual who has a similar family tree. Though I knew there were others like us out there, it was nice to actually meet someone from a family like mine. They could understand where I come from.

At the end of the day we're not that different from other families. We all still love each other and have our share of dramas. And, just like other families, we do things in our own special and unique way.

Now that I have shared some of my thoughts on my odd and different situation, please take a moment to read what my fellow bloggers have to say on this topic.


• Momarock (Sara)

• Merryland Girl (Melissa)

• Mom of Many (Susanna)


Until later . . .