Family Matters

My family is pretty cool. After the whole I-hate-life,-the-world,-and-especially-my-family teen years ended (blessed relief) I've realized they are pretty fucking great actually.

The more involved I get with other peoples' families reallllllllly makes me appreciate mine. Sure, my brother is a juvenile deliquent with a tendency to do some monumentally stupid shit. Yeah, my mom calls Johnny Depp Johnny Debb and buys way, way too many toys for my child. Ok, my dad speaks little and ignores a lot unless you're speaking Tonto-talk: wine, music, cooking etc. Lola can be a huge brat at times BUT they don't even compare when it comes to some families.

To prevent myself from being dooced - I will try to make the following anecdotes as generic as possible.

Some families I've met hate each other. They'll come right out and tell complete strangers that they are better-loved than their own blank. They scream at each other on the phone, they comment on how superior their children are vs a siblings'. They call each other worthless. All I can say is "ouch!"

I try to be considerate of my siblings' feelings. Even when Pete is a total space cadet and forgets a birthday or, oh, maybe schedules his vacation practically ON my child's due date, hey, is raising a stink really worth it? What if he died tomorrow? I sometimes snap at Ian (although I do my best not to) but then I feel bad, apologize and take him out for lunch. Oh yeah, and I don't punch Chad in the face for his politics, and that's saying something.

Some families have too much money. These family members grow up to love the hollar-hollar-dollar much more than each other. They marry spouses whom they don't love and have stuck up children together. The siblings don't get along but they don't fight often because they are too busy pursuing their own, costly, interests. Hunting takes precedence to romance. Downhill skiing and ATV's and super expensive remote control cars are more important than actually talking with the kids. Designer shoes, jewelry shows and the newest cleaning gadget are the first to be bragged about, but God forbid someone mention a (gasp) book!

Now don't get me wrong, our family is materialistic in the basest sense. You should see our fucking living room, it's a miniture version the the Happyland Palace or whatever M. Jackson calls his cameoflauged Venus childtrap. We love art shows and all the jewelry that comes with it. If we had a lot of money, who knows, maybe we would've turned out exactly the same. BUT, we don't AND we didn't.
I enjoy shopping with my mom and sister and grandma and our babies, Lola and Grey. It's trying at times, I get cranky (especially if I haven't eaten) my Grandma unintentionally cuts me down, I might possibly be hungover... But besides all those things, I don't really go to buy things, I seldom have money, I go to hang out and bask in the female family ambiance. I'm so glad that I have a daughter that I'll be able to pass this safe, loving tradition on with.
While trying on shoes, I fill my mother in on my love-life, school, my goals. It's at Target where I remember to tell my sister an anecdote about Lola's latest and greatest temper tamtrum. While eating at Sprizzo with Ian, we trade ideas on our first tattoos. Yes, we're spending money during these outings but sometimes it feels like they are more of an excuse to bond with family than replenish the toilet paper or find a new pair of jeans.

Now that I'm thinking about these families who-shall-not-be-named, I keep coming up with more examples of horrible family ties. The dads who left, the naggers, the selfish SOB's that.... wait a second, breathe.

This makes me want to go home and hug my not-perfect but closer-than-most family right now. I'm giving great thanks to that Savage Garden that placed me here that I'm a Llanas and that Lola is one too!