“These are my people
This is where I come from
We’re givin’ this life
Everything we’ve got and then someIt ain’t always pretty but it’s real
It’s the way we were made
Wouldn’t have it any other way
These are my people”
-Rodney Atkins

Today I wanted to share a little something about me. I probably shouldn’t say little because the importance of my family to me is actually kind of a big deal. A huge deal. We all share certain things just based upon the fact that we’re human and I’d like to think we all have loving, crazy families. I usually show my family photo album to new people I meet and since it seems my blogs been getting some new traffic lately I wanted to take the opportunity to show them off. I love my family, they’re my rock.

I really do mean that. I am very blessed to have such a sweet and loving family. I have a brother and a sister (twins) and yes the question will follow “Double the trouble?” I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked that. Yes, sometimes they are double the trouble but they’re very, VERY different. They make life complex in different ways and I love them to pieces. They put me in my place when I’m getting too huffy and always know how to make me bust a smile on a tough day. They’re siblings and even though that meant we did what all siblings did (fight) we also learned to love each other. A lot. I’m very blessed to have them in my life. I’m so proud of the adults that they’re becoming.  (Sidenote: Mightnon and Hootnon were what I wanted to name them before they were born. As you can see, I didn’t exactly get my way…Everyone else calls them the twinsies or brother and sister, so there you go!)

I have a sweet mom and dad. They helped me every step of the way. Any aspiration I wanted to pursue they were on it. They checked up on me during the all nighters, drove me to judging trips in the wee hours of the morning and loved me even when I was unlovable. They loved me unconditionally and taught me how to do so. Even though I’m moved out (and when I say ‘moved out’ I mean a couple hundred feet from my door) they still know just the right thing to say and have just the right words of encouragement. They always pushed me to be my best and showed me how to be compassionate in little ways they may have never realized. Each day that I’ve been moved out I find something that I love about how they raised me. My mom is like her grandmother and her great grandmother in that she is a caretaker of all. She’s probably fed tons of you over the years. My father, he taught me how to be compassionate and humble by simply watching how he interacts with people. I’m proud to call both of them my parents.

I also have a fantastic family that’s not immediate.  I’d like to share some things I learned from each of them.

Granny B taught me that women can be independent and that sometimes you need to reserve some time to feed the raccoon’s french toast on her porch in the summer evening. She taught me it’s okay to have ice cream for breakfast and that QVC is addictive. She also taught me how to make chocolate cream pie.

Papa Sherwood taught me to have a love for hard work and greasy hands as he spent much of his life restoring all sorts of old vehicles. He had a familiar smell of Allspice and a love for the guitar. He taught me that your situation doesn’t define you and anyone can be anything.

Granna taught me that sometimes it’s okay to lick the cookies. Even if they are headed to a nursing home. That it’s alright to dress up and be goofy and to not have rules. Granna taught me that sometimes a warm blanket and a porch swing in the cool air are all that were needed to remedy even the most difficult of situations.

Grandgary taught me that everyone can show their love in little ways. He taught me that receiving a treat from “the getting place” after being picked up from school could make any day an adventure and that though life sometimes gets hard that it’s our responsibility to take care of the ones we love the best we know how.

Grandmother taught me that it’s okay to believe in a little magic every now and then. She taught me to be wild and unexpected and live a life full of passion. She taught me that even as you grow older it’s okay to play cowboys and indians and tell wild tales. That it’s okay to be unique, in fact, it’s wonderful quality.

Uncle Cliff taught me that sometimes it’s okay to be particular. He taught me how to act like a lady and how to always be classy and polite. He taught me it’s okay to have an opinion, because this is your message to the world.

Uncle Ron taught me how to believe in myself as an aspiring writer. He taught me that life is short, but to make the most of it and to share the wilds of  your imagination with the world is one of the greatest gifts there is. He taught me that the smell of coffee grounds is one of the best in the world, and one he always seemed to wear well.

Auntie C taught me how to laugh. She taught me that sometimes it’s okay to bend the rules just a little bit. She also taught me that you never want to get ‘that look’ from her and that sometimes it’s alright to have a little attitude and show off your mid-drift.

Shandyn Brianne taught me that sometimes it’s okay to be a little awnry. It’s okay to push the limits. It’s okay to call China long distance from the handicap phone upstairs and she did try to scare me into thinking Bloody Mary was a very very real and okay thing. She taught me that sometimes it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Shaelyn taught me that even when you throw a fit about the temperature of your apple juice that you can sometimes still be friends. She taught me that Gretchen Wilson’s “All Jacked Up” was a little much for a seven year old to be listening too. She tried to teach me how to crochet, (I think?) She assures me every time I see her that God is alive and well in our hearts even if it’s not something we explicitly discuss and has taught me that raising two boys can be a handful but that it’s well worth it.

Grandad my great grandfather taught me that getting a kiss on the forehead from his bristly face and being enclosed in his arms is one of the best feelings in the world. He taught me that humor is essential in any situation and that before letting yourself in hollering “Yoo-Hoo” and being greeted by an “I love you sugar” should be standard. He taught me that you must always be resilient and tender and that it is not material possessions that will change a person’s life. He taught me to be selfless and above all very sweet and that starting his stories with “When I was a little girl” always makes your audience pay a little closer attention.

My great grandmother Granny “O” taught me the importance of still having fire in your eyes in your nineties is essential when chasing around old men. She taught me that you can make the world a better place by inviting your neighbors into your home and warming their hearts with food. She taught me the importance of God in our life and scripture. She taught us that combing through grass to find a lost tooth is just what you do when a grand child has lost one, that cultivating the earth through a garden sure make’s it beautiful and that the best way to spend the fourth of July was sprawled out on a blanket underneath the fireworks and getting eaten up by mosquitoes was some of the best fun to be had.

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren