Family should be like a good bra, knowing when to be supportive and when to let you just hang free.
(This picture is missing a few grandkids, my husband, and my nicely brushed hair, but it is all I currently have of at least the (6) of us kids in one picture)
My family is most definitely this way, in their own special/unique/individual ways. For those of you that don’t know much about my family; we shall do a quick overview…
Dad (Back Row on the left): Honest, straight to the point and “work hard for everything you have” type.
Mom (Back Row on the right): Believe or not, she is shy. Every now and then she has a moment, but she is a good reserved Christian lady.
Amy (Front row middle, blue shirt): Oldest child and my running partner- or was until she got faster than me. Take charge, don’t hurt feelings, and be organized…
Chris (right side, hiding behind his wife, orange shirt): he works for a great company (admirably it is hard to get in too), so truly he feels as though this is pass for EVERYTHING! (Why should I help with clean up, do you know where I work? Etc....)
Katie: Well…. I am just pretty much AWESOME I don’t think there needs to be any other explanation (Oh and I am self declared the 2nd funniest in the family)
Ben (Yellow Shirt on the left): By far the funniest guy in the family, and the most athletic. I don’t think he practices much… at anything. But he will nail it EVERY TIME
Corey (Left middle, LOTS of hair): He is a builder. Do you want a shed? Done. Do you want to build a fence? Done. This is Corey, definitely loves to talk and isn’t afraid of putting in the sweat and time
Elliott (Middle of the picture, light blue shirt): He is the baby…. Not A baby, THE baby. Shy, honest and sincere…. (Everything else was taken so I don’t think he had a choice….)
So… now that you have received a close up of whom we are, let me tell you why this is important. We have a ½ marathon coming up… Hospital Hill, June 2nd 2012. This race was sent out to all (6) kids to run together. And yes, they all agreed… In writing… That we would do this together. Now when I sent out the idea, I thought it would be truly as a team… Ya know, holding hands across the finish line, everything is in slow motion as we cry our tears of joy that we have done so well… Great job sister… Great job brother…. Wonderful Disney-Like Film in my mind…. I don’t see the problem here. Those moments really happen in real life, right?
Low and behold, I recently found out, that this is NOT the case. EVERY MAN AND WOMAN FOR THEM SELVES! I hope you survive it because I am not waiting to find out! And guess who I was told will be last to finish that line?? Yup… Me. And this is probably true, but wow… where did all the love and support go? I officially feel like I am now wearing a bra from the clearance isle!
Now I see them all as competition and that means if you are on the side of the road with a swollen ankle… I am not stopping. I run as if a lion is chasing me, and those rules don’t state you have to be the fastest you just have to beat one person… And it will be you with the swollen ankle.
Can’t you feel the love? Ah well, we will see how it goes. I probably will be last (there will be at least one person behind me but probably not a sibling). Amy will beat her goal and then start drinking her beer, Chris has opted out-some work injury (surprised?), Ben will run it once and then loop around to finish with me, Corey will be home by the time I finish, and Elliott will be done and with mom cheering me across across the line.
I just hope everyone stays the extra hour (or two) to see me run across… It is running as long as you are bouncing and I can make just about anything bounce at a very slow pace!
However, I couldn’t ask for a better family- even at their worst… they are still the best…. (Yes, if you are wondering…. I consider this their worst. What was so wrong with finishing together, while holding hands?)
Happy Bouncing to you and my you have a supportive bra!
~K
