A. My immediate family now is simply me and my husband. But my father is still alive, and I have a brother. My husband's mother is also still with us.
3. Which day of the year are you most likely to spend with your family?
4. As a child, did you go on family trips? What do you remember about those vacations?
5. Is there a black sheep in your family? What is different about them?
6. Do you know your extended family? How many of them have you met?
7. Have you ever been to a family reunion? How was it?
8. Who are you most proud of among your relatives? Who do you look up to?
9. What characteristics have you inherited from your parents? Do you look like them? Do you behave like they do?
10. Does your family have any heirlooms? Will you inherit anything that has been in the family a long time?
11. What happens to old people in your family? Do they live with younger family members or move to a retirement home? How would you prefer to spend your old age?
12. If you are married, how well do you get along with your in-laws?
15. Are you so close to any of your friends that you consider them to be like family?
2. Who are you closest to in your family? What kind of relationship do you have with that person? Is it like friendship?
A. I am closest to my husband, and it's a marital relationship. I am also close with my brother, who is like a super special friend.
3. Which day of the year are you most likely to spend with your family?
A. Christmas Eve.
4. As a child, did you go on family trips? What do you remember about those vacations?
A. We went to Myrtle Beach most of the time. I remember mostly sand and sunburn. Then there was the two-week drive across the U.S. to California and back that had as its climax my mother screaming at my father in Nevada to let her out of the car so she could go file for a quickie divorce.
5. Is there a black sheep in your family? What is different about them?
A. Baaa. Baaa. That would be me. I don't bow to the patriarchy or believe in capitalism or survival of the fittest.
6. Do you know your extended family? How many of them have you met?
A. I have quite an extended family, and I have met more of them than I can count in the time I have to answer this. I have cousins upon cousins and in my community I am related to most people whose family have deep roots here. In fact, my husband and I are 5th cousins, so my father-in-law was also my 4th-cousin once removed (I think I have that right).
7. Have you ever been to a family reunion? How was it?
A. I have been to several. Generally they have been frustrating, because family members who knew one another the best would sit in little huddles and there wasn't much communicating. I made a point of visiting the huddles to try to get to know these people but I eventually gave up and stopped going to the annual reunions. They did not have one this year or last because of Covid.
8. Who are you most proud of among your relatives? Who do you look up to?
A. I am proud of many of my relatives. My father has been an incredibly successful businessman, and my brother has built upon that success and raised a beautiful family as well. He's a smart man, my brother. My aunt who lives in Texas now has been a successful businesswoman, not an easy task because that glass ceiling still exists no matter how much it may have been raised.
9. What characteristics have you inherited from your parents? Do you look like them? Do you behave like they do?
A. I have inherited my father's talent for music, my mother's moodiness, and I hope I don't behave like either of them but I am sure I do.
10. Does your family have any heirlooms? Will you inherit anything that has been in the family a long time?
A. Musical instruments might be our family heirlooms. My grandparents on both sides of the family were not wealthy people and there was little to pass down. Since I have no children, I won't be the one to get it anyway.
11. What happens to old people in your family? Do they live with younger family members or move to a retirement home? How would you prefer to spend your old age?
A. My father lives with his wife. My grandmother, who died in 2017 at the age of 93, had dementia and was in a nursing home. I hope to die before I reach the point where I cannot take care of myself.
12. If you are married, how well do you get along with your in-laws?
A. I get along fine with my mother-in-law. She's a nice person.
13. What do people mean when they say, “you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family”?
A. They mean you're stuck with the people in your family and they're your brother or sister or parent regardless. You can stop speaking and move across the world but they're still your relatives.
14. If you live far away from some members of your family, how do you keep in touch? How often do you communicate?
A. I sometimes talk to my aunt in Texas but not often. We talk on the phone, occasionally we might text.
15. Are you so close to any of your friends that you consider them to be like family?
A. I have at least three friends that I consider my family. Maybe more. I have a big heart and love a lot of people.
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It is the same here for me, I can usually find some distant family connection to anyone whose family has lived here for at least the last 100 years. My cousin found out the hard way just how "inbred" the area can be when he brought home his fiance home to meet his parents and discovered she was his second cousin. Oops! Legal, but not comfortable. They ended things quickly.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting that your family is so musical.
ReplyDeleteOh--I am with you on #11! I'm so independent that the idea of being incapicitated or dependent freaks me out!
ReplyDelete