Sunday Stealing

1. How big is your immediate family? Who are the members?  

 Four of us:  My husband, myself, one son and one daughter.  OK, I just looked up the definition of immediate family, and here it is:  Immediate family refers to a person’s parents, siblings, spouse, child by blood, adoption or marriage, grandparents and grandchildren.  

I have a sister left who is in her 90's, and that's it.  

2. Who are you closest to in your family? What kind of relationship do you have with that person? Is it like friendship?

My husband.  We've had squabbles, of course, but after fifty-five years, we still actually "like" one another,  Yes, he is my best friend.

3. Which day of the year are you most likely to spend with your family?

The Fourth of July, give or take a day or two.  Our son lives in Georgia, and that's the one time we see him every year; so the whole family gets together.

4. As a child, did you go on family trips? What do you remember about those vacations?

I remember my parents and me camping out at the Iowa State Fair two or three years for our vacation when I was under ten years old.  Later we went to South Dakota and Colorado, and Lake of the Ozarks.

5. Is there a black sheep in your family? What is different about them?

We used to kiddingly used to call my husband's younger brother the black sheep of the family; I even wrote a song called the black sheep of the family and sang it to him.  He loved it.  He died a few years ago.  I had a half-brother, now deceased, who spent a lot of time in prison and died in a halfway house, so I guess he was the real black sheep of the family.  It makes me sad thinking about that.

6. Do you know your extended family? How many of them have you met?

I knew my mother's mom and my dad's father.  I know all my cousins on both sides and some second and third cousins.

7. Have you ever been to a family reunion? How was it?

My parents always went to two family reunions.  One on the first Sunday in August, one on the second Sunday..  I thought reunions were boring.  Sometimes I go to them now.  

8. Who are you most proud of among your relatives? Who do you look up to?

I'm proud of all my family for one reason or another.

9 What characteristics have you inherited from your parents? Do you look like them? Do you behave like they do?

I look more like my mother; I inherited her curly hair.  I really think I have a lot of my dad's leanings, though, and probably have behaved more like him in some ways.

Me, age 17, and my mother

My mom is the one in the left-hand lower corner.  Our faces are hidden, but see how our hair looks alike?

10. Does your family have any heirlooms? Will you inherit anything that has been in the family a long time?

I don't know if you'd call them heirlooms, because they're probably not worth a lot.  I have a musical jewelry box that was my grandmother's (What you see in the video is just the top of the box); it's playing Bill Bailey won't you please come home.

 

This is the whole thing, with its skin peeling off

and a decorative cup and saucer my grandfather gave Grandma; it says "Forget Me Not.  

Oh, and my Aunt Ruby gave me some ice cream dishes that belonged to HER grandmother, which would be my great-grandmother.

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?

My maternal grandmother lived in her own home until she went in the hospital, where she died after several days.  My paternal grandfather lived with the family of one of his sons until he died.  My mother moved to a nursing home on her own.  I hope I'm able to die in my own home.

12. If you are married, how well do you get along with your in-laws?

Not so great for the first few years, but eventually we all got along just fine, after I learned not to be so petty about every little thing.

13. What do people mean when they say, “you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family”?

You have no control about the family you're born into.

14. If you live far away from some members of your family, how do you keep in touch? How often do you communicate?  

Well, I'm not much of a communicator.  I hate talking on the phone, and it's hard for me to keep a conversation going on the telephone.  I instant message our son in Georgia if I want to ask him something or tell him something.  He and Cliff talk on the phone maybe once a month, but when they do, they are liable to talk for an hour.  My sister and I talk once in awhile, and I write her a letter occasionally.

15. Are you so close to any of your friends that you consider them to be like family?

I don't make friends easily and I'm quite the introvert, so, no.

Feel free to do the Sunday Stealing on your blog.  Just go to the blog of the same name to get the questions.