in my opinion, if you want to know someone at a deeper level, ask about their family. i don't mean try to fit them into a stereotype. like the "only child," or "raised by a single parent." rather, try to observe their attitude towards family members, how they describe them, how they interact with them. heck, if you can meet their family, i bet you'll learn a lot about the individual. some of us might think, eww my family doesn’t define me, or that we couldn’t be more different than our family members. but even if that's true, i think that understanding a person’s family dynamic can be really insightful into understanding how they came to be. for instance, i've found that someone who doesn’t treat their parents with respect, more likely than not, tends to be a bit self-centered, or might have trouble respecting others. it's hard to determine the cause and effect in a scenario like that. it could be that being innately self-centered is the cause, and the effect is not respecting the parents. but i personally lean towards the lack of behavioral guidance from the parents, which leads to the lack of respect as the cause, and the self-centered-ness being the effect. it doesn’t all have to be bad either. belonging to a large, rowdy family might help the individual be more socially interactive, maybe more confident. all these are generalizations of course, and people do have intrinsic personality qualities that are entirely genetic. in any case, what i really wanted to talk about was my family. bear with me, as the thought of how sappy this post might be is making me reconsider writing it!
first, i'd like to start with my dad. my dad is one of the humblest folks you might ever meet. he never asks for anything, never buys himself anything (unless it's tools to fix or build something for us), he doesn’t like to bother anyone with a request. we've learned to pick up on subtle cues. dad's church shoes don't match any of his clothes, time to buy him a new pair. i hear the sound of power tools in the distance, better go help him. that sort of thing. dad is also a big kid at heart. he sings annoying songs at the top of lungs in the morning to wake us up. he's also quite talented at making weird faces in all our photos. my dad also stresses like no other. he takes on everyone's stress too. he talks to me about other people's problems like they’re his own. he really sympathizes with people, which i think is such a good quality of his. well, i could probably write a book about my dad's personality but i think i'll leave it at that and move on to the mothership!
my mom is really sweet and caring. when i get sick, she stays up till 3 or 4 in the morning with me until i fall asleep. then goes to work a few hours later. her patients absolutely adore her too. she laughs at all my jokes, even if they’re not funny. she's just a big teddy bear, she even looks like one. my mom can be pretty feisty at times though, to say the least. you sort of have to give her some space until the tide settles. it's because she has a very intense personality. mostly she loves very strongly, but you definitely don't want to be on her bad side. although, in her defense, she is very quick to forgive. mom is also brutally honest at times. political correctness is a foreign concept to her. i really respect that about her though, and so do a lot of people, but i have to say, it has a tendency to get her in trouble.
my older sister mary is an interesting person. if you’re reading this mary, prepare yourself for some serious trash talk. you know that verse, "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself"? well i think that's her motto in life. things always tend to work out for her though and i'm sure god has great plans for her, none the less. mary is a very social person, i've never seen her shy or timid. she never chuckles, her laugh either bursts every eardrum within a 10 foot radius or she doesn’t laugh at all. people comment that we are polar opposites. i can be a bit shy and analytical while she just lives in the moment. she is always concerned with other people's comfort. she has to make sure everyone is having fun and no one is left out.
my younger sister shiry is also an interesting creature. i remember the year after i graduated, she moved into my old dorm building. my friends were telling me how much they all love her. also how they don't miss me anymore because she's replaced me. i can't really argue with them though. people adore the girl for some reason. i've never met anyone who doesn’t. and if they do exist, then they’ve made a horrible mistake. shiry is the kind of person that would never hurt a fly. she doesn’t like to talk bad about anyone. although she is very protective of her loved ones, so in that sense, you can bet she’ll stand up for you. if she trusts you, you can trust her with your life. she's logical but a bit naive at times. she's also extremely sensitive (the world is a messed up place shiry, get over it!). she's sort of my little minion. we do karate sometimes.
well, that's all for now. all this family talk is making me homesick :'-(
