meet the family

When I did my last segment of the hot seat, Janae asked me a great question:

What is your family like?

That’s an interesting question, and I guess I could go many different ways with this question. However, I think what I want to do is tell you a little bit about each member of my side of the family — the ones I grew up with and shaped me into who I am.

Big Daddy Wayne

If there’s anyone to blame for my sarcastic banter or horribly dry sense of humor, it is my father. He is utterly serious, and his humor is so dry that many people never even catch onto his jokes unless they are really listening. Except for when he’s wearing that one shirt that says “I’m a Fun Guy” with a mushroom on it. Hilarious, right? My dad is a retired high school teacher who always supported me and was the kind of dad who never missed a swim meet. Unfortunately, I got my stubbornness from him (although he would claim I got it from my mother) and my need to be in bed by 9 pm every night.

Mommasita

Biggest fan and best friend. For real, if you want to meet an amazing person, go talk to my mom. I am a clone of her, which is frustrating at times because I know whenever we argue, I’m basically arguing with myself (is that weird?). We can constantly be found saying, “get out of my brain!” whenever we finish each other’s sentences (which is often). She sacrifices so much for us and never once complains.

Sister Kirstin

taken at her wedding in 2008

If you want to see polar opposites, see my older sister and me. She’s short, I’m tall. She’s quiet, I’m loud. She’s brunette, I’m blond. She has brown eyes, I have blue eyes. But despite all of our differences, we are absolutely the same. Our sense of humor is so in sync that we could literally pee our pants laughing about something incredibly stupid. When we were growing up, we would be ripping each other’s hair out one minute (literally) and laughing at how ridiculous we were acting the next. Kirstin also selflessly became a wonderful mother to her husband’s two children after they got married, and is now due with a baby girl in three weeks!

The Boy

My poor baby brother Matthew. Seriously, if anyone got the brunt of the family, it was this kid right here. We honestly called him “the boy” or “little brother” when we were younger. Being the youngest of three (two of which are girls), Matthew got jipped out of a lot of things as a kid. He never asked to go shopping, he never asked our parents for money, and he  always does what we ask of him. I never have to ask Matthew twice for a favor, and he is always willing to lend a helping hand. He is a mama’s boy (don’t tell him I said that), and once told my mom he was going to live with her forever (he may have been 5 when he said that). Matthew is starting a sound engineering program at a university in Chicago next month. Oh, and he’s a super dog sitter — he cleans your house!

There was never a dull moment growing up in my house. I could tell you story upon story, but I am sure my mother would rather me not so we can keep our dignity. However, I may have to tell the story of the turkey sandwich someday — or not. It’s a good one.

My family obviously consists of more people than just those four, including many more siblings, nieces and nephews, and another amazing set of parents thanks to marrying the husband who I couldn’t imagine life without!

Question: Who is in your family? How would you describe each one of them?

Tagged as: family, questions, who is in my family