4/24/2007

Everyday I become more and more like my...

People usually end that sentence with saying they become their mom or their dad and normally I would. I do find traits in myself that mirror my mom and my dad. For example, I am like my dad in that I trust other people. WellOK, not so much trust, but more I am willing to help out other people without any expectations of getting paid back (an example of this is whenever our car broke down, my dad never asked or expected a ride from his coworkers but whenever anyone else needed a ride, even to the next city/town/village over, my dad would be the first to volunteer). Of course, the downside to this, is you obviously people can walk all over you. I am like my mom, in that I am a realist and levelheaded. My mom, being the oldest of her siblings, had to play the diplomat in many situations. She taught me to not judge a book by its cover and not draw such quick conclusions on subjects.

Yes, I am like my parents and as I age, I continue to grow more and more like them. However, in reality I think more of my personality actually comes from my Uncle Peter. To this day I still have this weird fear of him. Not like he is going to hit me or anything bad like that, but more of a fear of what he may say to me. No, not even my aunt, who used to stand over my crib and say in a deep voice, "WHAT'S MY AME!," (she was 14 and I was an annoying colicky baby, but still) makes me nervous.

Here are example of situations that cause me to fear him:

-When I was about 5, I along with my brother and sister, asked him to take a picture of us. He said he would, but only if we picked our nose. We did.
-When I would ask for a ride to my middle school mixers (you know the ones where they played jock jams and you would stand around awkwardly during the slow songs---oh wait that was just me)he said he would if I would pay him back...with interest (his nickname was The Operator).
-He gave me a nickname which was originated from a mean nanny character, or was it a mean witch? Well, I know it was a mean old lady.

Basically, its the snarky attitude that make me nervous. However, I find that I am very much like him as an adult. Things I do that remind me of what my uncle would do:

-I use the same type of sarcasm with people of all ages, even children. Its fun to see how long you can tell a kid something that is obviously not true, and see how long they believe you.
-I joke around with my cousins about only showing up at family functions for food.
Whenever I give rides to my brothers or cousins and they go in the backseat and no one sits in the passenger seat, I look back at them and say, "What do I look like, a taxi-cab?"
-My uncle married in his early thirties (which for my family is really really old) and everyone assumed he was going to be a bachelor all his life (he is married with three kids now). I'm on the road to this, except I have the pleasure of being a girl, so its called being an old maid. Oh Joy!
-In general, people being afraid to ask me to do favors for them, in fear of my snarky reactions (which are sarcastic but I do the favors anyway because like I said, I am my father).
-I'm already planning out some mean nicknames to give to my future nieces and nephews. OK I am kind of kidding about that last one.

In all seriousness, I hope to keep my uncles coolness (because he was cool) but I hope I don't instill fear in my sibling's offspring. Or at least those kids better not fear me.***shakes fist***

Here is a picture taken around the time Uncle Peter came back from basic training. I am with my sister, brother and cousin on his lap.



Look at how happy we were to see him. We were so naive.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are the Peter of your generation - you even scare me...just kidding! I know that "front" you put up is just a facade to hide the real you - my Hollie, who still is the sweet little cutie on her uncle's lap. Look how cute you are!!

Love, Mom

Anonymous said...

You don't scare me at all. But that is probably because we are basically like twins the two of us. :)

Love,
Your Sister