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Monday, December 1

Family Resemblance

This is my first go. Hope you enjoy!

My family is big. And bold, and brash and very European. My father's side of the family, that is. They color the sky with their eyes, and it's only my mother who, though carrying the dominant gene, has brown eyes. Thinking about my niece-to-be, I wondered not only who she would resemble, but who I resembled.

My sister is pregnant with her first child. Over the recent holiday, family members sang of the coming event, debating over whether she will be early, on time or late. Whether the kid will look like my sister-- dark hair and blues eyes-- or my brother-in-law-- blonde and bald with eyes I'm not sure the color of. The former is most likely, and the critter will come out at least three days late (I win!)

My sister and I are opposite in appearance: she with long jet hair, cerulean eyes, and a thin lean shape. The fact that she has no hips on which to hang her jeans has long frustrated her. While I, on the other hand, am tall (though not as tall as her) and with curves and hips to share. I reflect only disjointed pieces of my relatives: my paternal grandmother's ass, my mother's long Native nose, and, apparently, my maternal grandfathers penchant for slouching. I wonder if, perhaps, my shaky resemblance has aided in familial alienation. Is it possible to know those foreign, separate, of ourselves?

But what about my mother's mother? Tall, blonde, and striking. She caught and has since lost her Navy boy long ago. Lost first to the sea, and then to us all. Now she has been left to discover her own world, previously lived, and since forgotten. She is my most close mirror.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So glad you're joining us for Memoir Mondays... welcome!