this is my family, series




mother

This is my family, series
This is my mother

Orchestrates everything
Creates long two-week driving trips around the country, every year or more
Plans out every road, every park, every museum, every motel, every stop
Takes picture after picture after picture of the family and the vacation and the holiday and more
Collects Christmas lists and birthday lists for everyone
Buys everything on everyone's list, even if there's not enough money for it
Budgets everything somehow perfectly
Creates her own home-shopping-network for the rest of the family to buy for others
Used to have long lists of paper for this
Now puts a computer and a laptop to work for the same effect
Keeps everyone in the family updated on everyone else, because no one can talk to the others like they can talk to her
Pays attention to all the little details
Ties the family together everyday, with her knowledge and her care and her love
Sews the patchwork of our family together, everyday, without which, we'd all fall separately apart and lose touch
Holds and hugs and kisses and warms and touches and loves
Remembers when I visit that I love Juicy Juice and cereal and Puffs Plus tissues
Fixes my room just the way I like it
Prepares all of those things for me in advance of my trip home, without my having to say a thing
Cooks and cooks and cooks requested meals everyday
Decorates all over, wraps all the presents, stuffs the stockings, plans the events, gets everyone else excited
Smiles and laughs and enjoys her family during the holiday
Always takes our calls, even if more than once a day, and for no reason, and even if the cell phone keeps breaking connection
Understands we talk best when we're in the mood and have time
Always in the mood to talk to us
Understands that we may not want to chat right away
Wakes up at 2am because suddenly the kids are in the mood to talk right then
Listens and helps and advises and strengthens
Paints in her sparetime
Somehow manages to have sparetime
Talking to every family member everyday, running the church choir, running the church, managing vacations, orchestrating birthdays and holidays and presents and lives, shopping, cooking, managing, handling, comforting, making, sewing, fixing, planning, whew!, all of which is work, work, work, without pay or often acknowledgement
Does it all from the heart
Wants everyone to be happy and strong
Never is afraid to say "I love you"
Always puts the family first
Wishes and worries and hopes and dreams and takes great care
Loves her family
This is my mother

father

This is my family, series
This is my father

Hides real interest in the holiday rituals with feigned indifference
Worries that the kids won't come home for the holiday
Drives six or seven times to the airport an hour away to pick up all of the kids
Carries every present, before and after wrappings, from house to car to house and back
Pays for everything, including parking fees, tolls, last minute doctor visits and trips to the store
Works jobs he hates to support the family that he loves
Offers the majority of the potatoes at dinner to the visiting kids, even while secretly hiding the rolls
Offers the rolls too
Fixes broken appliances and cars and whatnot
Provides tools and knowledge on how to fix more
Visits the kids often and fixes anything and everything that needs fixin
Doesn't judge the kids' lack of knowledge on cars and appliances and whatnot
Watches what the family wants to watch on the tv at night, even while holding the remote
'Puts up' with the holiday season because he really secretly enjoys it
Patiently waits for my mother while she shops, spends, returns, visits, gabs, cooks, sings, dotes, and decorates
Helps her when needed
Loves his family
This is my father

grandmother

This is my family, series
This is my grandmother

Cooks and cooks and cooks and cooks
Cooks both turkey and brisket, for just one dinner
Bakes pumpkin pies and pecan pies and birthday cakes and more
Bakes potatoes too
And augratin potatoes and mashed potatoes and yams and more, for just one dinner, cuz no one in the family likes the same thing at the same time
Heats up green beans and corn and hominy and black eyed peas for the same reasons
Stirs up gravy and cole slaw and cranberry sauces
Cuts up green peppers and olives and celery sticks and carrots and all
Places out candies and cookies and cakes and more
Pre-bakes her signature chocolate chip cookies and provides a filled container for each visitor for travel
Warms up some cinnamon rolls and breads and donuts and more, to snack on before dinner
Manages to conduct a major operation with little help
Keeps calm and coordinated throughout the process
Cleans as she goes too
Cleans up the whole ordeal afterwords, even while wishing she could nap like everyone else
Naps after it's all done
Still asks if anyone wants more food
Ready to make more food or fix or attend to or help with anything at a moment's notice
Looks prepared to jump up all the time, for she's learned over the years that she always 'has' to get up for something sometime soon
Never seems to rest until time for bed and when the nightgown's on, it is time for bed
Watches and worries and hopes and dreams and loves
Visits with the family and neighbors and friends
Reads her mystery books when she's alone and won't be bothered
Takes care of her family with love and food and sewing and cleaning and hugs and smiles and heart
Loves her family
This is my grandmother

grandfather

This is my family, series
This is my grandfather

Deems his family priority number one
Cares about every little thing more then he lets on
Wants everything in its place
Redecorates the Christmas tree after the women have finished, just to get it perfect
Stuffs secret presents into the stockings
Sings secret songs hidden on recorders for the family to find one day
Whistles and sings and hums and muses
Sings old-time songs that evoke characters in your head
Taught everyone how to fish
Took the grandkids off on weeklong fishing trips to the Ozarks because he loved it and loved them
Cleaned the caught fish for everyone
Understood when his eldest male grandchild didn't want to learn how to clean a fish
Laughed when he said, "Eww! I don't want to learn how. That's what Grandpa's are for."
Didn't judge him for being who he was
Fixes cars and appliances and leaks and toilets and gutters and yards and more
Whistles all the while
Surprised his grandson with his love and understanding after he came out as Gay
Still hugs him today, years later, nothing's changed
OK's his wife to go on separate vacations to visit the grandchildren, even when she doesn't think he will let her go
Misses her terribly while she's gone
Wants the exact driving directions of his daughter's road trips so he can follow along while she's away
Enjoys hearing about all the travels and trips of the family
Happy to stay in his recliner the rest of the day
Snoozes off and on through his favorite old westerns, old movies, old tv movies, and Matlock episodes
Awakens happy to see his home and family still around
Worries and stresses so much about his family that his heart hurts
Hides his own internal pain
Doesn't want anyone knowing he has weaknesses too
Listens to his wife and daughter even while pretending not to
Advises and guides his family's members with love and respect
Dreams of winning the lottery and building adjoining houses for every member of the family
Loves his family
This is my grandfather

friend, jessie

This is my family, series
This is my friend, jessie

Came up to my apartment, his new neighbor, and befriended me
Laughed when I thought he was straight
Started eating out with me daily because I couldn't cook
Forgot how to cook for himself too, just because we enjoy dining together
Talks to me just about everyday
Goes to the grocery store with me, walks to work with me, finds time for lunch and dinner with me, without it ever really seeming like it's too much
It's just normal everyday behavior
Lets me touch him
Touches me back
Hugs me often
Makes me laugh all the time
Likes my laugh
Makes friendly fun of me
Can put up a mean fight with me, but never leaves the friendship
Has called me his 'best friend'
His having so many friends, that means a lot
Wants to take trips with me
Understands my fear of flying, my OCD, my depressive states, and other such erratic behaviors
Feels comfortable expressing his own erratic behaviors with me too
Listens to me even when I'm rambling and have no point
Calls me for lunch and dinner, even when he has his boyfriend to dine with
We make a great threesome
Thinks of our friendship as something with a future, even if he moves to NYC
Is Bart to my Lisa Simpson
We're an odd pair that fits beautifully
Reminds me of a brother or old friend from childhood that I've never lost connection with
Set up my website and my computer and my technical gizmos
Puts up with my complete inabilities to manage technical gizmos
Helps me figure them out and more
Began my start in movie acting
Still plans on filming me
Takes lots of pictures of me
Talks with me about cute boys
Mocks my behaviors
Jokes with me about himself
Isn't afraid of being himself with me
Introduces me to his mother and family and friends
Is my lover-in-spirit
Loves me as I do him
This is my friend, jessie.

brother

This is my family, series
This is my brother

Never shy of a debate
Always has an opinion
On everything
Listens, but definitely talks
Keeps the family up to date on the latest scifi, movie, tv, and games news
Used to wear hooded robes while playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends
Wouldn't suprise me if he still does
He's cool like that
Was known as "The Joker" in high school
As in the Jack Nicholson version from "Batman"
Dressed the part often too
Yes, and with the makeup
Can talk to anyone, young, old, strange, cool, hip, wild, well-dressed, or sweats-wearing
Can talk to them for hours
About anything
Anything.
Consults me about politics and voting even though he's always considered himself way more conservative than I
Tells me why I'm 'wrong'
Listens to me tell him why he's 'wrong'
Puts up a good fight
But understands that I don't like a fight and always fall back into joke-mode, or feigning innocence
Likes toys even more than I do
Thinks he's my niece's 'favorite uncle' even though we all know I am
Understands why I give him toys, children's stuff, and comics for presents
He likes it too
Loses to me at Clue everytime
Ha
Takes games VERY seriously
Making an amazing life for himself wherever he goes
Moved from Kansas City to Los Angeles to help my sister out with my niece
How awesome is that?
Cares deeply about his family
Wishes, hopes, dreams, fantasizes, thinks
And did I mention dreams?
Still hasn't visited me in SF yet
Hopefully soon
Loves his family
This is my brother

cat

This is my family,series
This is my cat

Crazy wonderful
Loves me like crazy
Hates everyone else
Tells them so
Hisses and growls and swats and attacks and scratches without care
Sometimes i have to close her off in the kitchen when guests are here
Took me a long time for her to stop scratching me
She still does every once in a while
Yeah, i know
But then there's the normal times when she loves
And protects
And purrs
And rolls over, shows her belly, and says she loves me
And she licks my head at night
Yeah, i know
But it's really adorable
She walks on my head in the middle of the night, purrs, and licks my head
Until i push her away
Because i'm sleeping and it's kinda strange
But she's strange and crazy
In a wonderful way
Covers up her food with a rug
Not sure why
Eats by putting her nose under the rug
And then covers the food up again
Not afraid of water and jumps into the bathwater before its drained
Sometimes drinks the dirty water
Yeah, i know
But what to do
Drinks the sink water sometimes too
She's crazy
Steals my computer chair all the time
Sometimes when i've only gotten up for a second
Drives me nuts
Constantly protects the house from the birds outside the windows
Got rid of my mouse problem quickly by killing 4 in a week
Ate one of the mice whole
Even the tail
Yeah, i know
Crunch, crunch went the bones at 3am
I tried to stop her, but what to do
She's a cat
I wonder if she was abused before i got her, or feral, because she doesn't like anyone at all and really shows it
But she's perfect for me and my own crazy psychotic life
She's like the bad boyfriend that all your friends hate and wonder why you're with but that only you see the quiet times where there's love and beauty and you try and tell your friends about but they never see it
Yeah, like that
Which is perfect for me because that's the type of boyfriends i usually attract
And that's not good for a boyfriend
But for a cat, it'll do
And she sleeps with me
Although sometimes she chooses the closet over me, but sometimes boyfriends do that too
Puts up with my loud times and my quiet times and my sporadic love moments
Gives me an excuse to talk to myself, as long as its in the form of talking to her
I named her "amaya" which means "night rain" in japanese
Come to think of it, "night rain" kinda fits this crazy cat pretty well actually
Runs from me
Comes to me
Rubs against me
Meows sadly when I'm leaving
Plays with me, always wants to play
Loves me, loves me, loves me
And i love her
This is my cat