If there's a non-awkward way to have your parents who live far away meet your mid-distance boyfriend, I didn't find it.
But everyone's in their respective homes again, so we're over that hurdle. Also, beyond the hurdle of first-significant-other-to-meet-the-parents (you're welcome, sissy.)
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
The Honeymoon
They drove from Minnesota to Ohio. (From her family to his.) No pre-planned route. No itenerary. Just point the car in the approximate direction and stop when there's something interesting.
People go tubing at the Wisconsin Dells. Probably in truck tire tubes. Because cars' just aren't that big. They didn't go.
The bed in that one hotel SAGGED. Here you have to gesture a large U across your body. Otherwise you might not realize how depressed that bed was.
They took a ferry across Lake Michigan. The ferry was already loaded when they got there, so they got to drive straight on. Everyone else was driven on by the ferry staff.
The restaurant on board served lunch from 1 until 2. They got there right after it closed. So they made do with a couple of candy bars.
She got motion sick and lost hers.
Ooops.
But the steak at dinner that night, after they were on solid ground, was delicious.
People go tubing at the Wisconsin Dells. Probably in truck tire tubes. Because cars' just aren't that big. They didn't go.
The bed in that one hotel SAGGED. Here you have to gesture a large U across your body. Otherwise you might not realize how depressed that bed was.
They took a ferry across Lake Michigan. The ferry was already loaded when they got there, so they got to drive straight on. Everyone else was driven on by the ferry staff.
The restaurant on board served lunch from 1 until 2. They got there right after it closed. So they made do with a couple of candy bars.
She got motion sick and lost hers.
Ooops.
But the steak at dinner that night, after they were on solid ground, was delicious.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Tell me about Papa--the classic story
She was working at IBM. He was in ag chem.
Both on the third floor, separated by a wall.
They both took the back elevator down one day. It went to the parking lot. Why she was going that way is unclear--she didn't have a car.
(Did the Columbus have streetcars then? She doesn't think so. But Minneapolis did when she lived there. They'd take it across town from home to work. Leave a 7 in the morning to be there by 8. Often they were the first to break tracks in the night's snow. But I digress.)
He liked her suit and said so.
"Thank you, I made it myself."
~~~
I tell you, I come from good people.
Both on the third floor, separated by a wall.
They both took the back elevator down one day. It went to the parking lot. Why she was going that way is unclear--she didn't have a car.
(Did the Columbus have streetcars then? She doesn't think so. But Minneapolis did when she lived there. They'd take it across town from home to work. Leave a 7 in the morning to be there by 8. Often they were the first to break tracks in the night's snow. But I digress.)
He liked her suit and said so.
"Thank you, I made it myself."
~~~
I tell you, I come from good people.
Grandparents say the darndest things
I've had a great sufficiency and any more would be a flipsy-flopsy.~Nana quoting Papaw
After Gram died, he cooked for himself. Apparently he was always happy to fix steaks when he had company.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
My Sister The Nerd Lover
She complained that my college wasn't nerdy enough. "But seriously the college got rid of the Linux lab my sophomore year. That was a huge factor in my decision. Tsk Tsk."
I didn't understand. Nor do I have sympathy for her. You, my dear friends, are nerds enough for me.
The problem is that we have different frames of reference. My high school didn't have so much of the nerds. Her's was an extreme.
Case in point. She's applying for cool jobs now, so I'm stalking the jobs page of every cool start-up. This apparently leads to me looking at photos of "generic looking nerds." My sister's reaction, "Hey, I think I know that person."
So today, she mentions that one of the people from her high school is working at a well-known start-up (whose page I happened to be examining yesterday). I go back to the page and scroll around as we talk about the lack of women in the field. (The recruitment team was skewed toward women though maybe not as much as engineer team was toward men.) I comment about how there are nerds and then there are people who really stand out as nerds. Extra pale skin. Extra nerdy props. Turns out of all the people working at the start-up, the guy I picked out as the nerdiest is the one she knows.
A nerd among nerds I tell you.
Now then, I'm off to read Girl Genius.
I didn't understand. Nor do I have sympathy for her. You, my dear friends, are nerds enough for me.
The problem is that we have different frames of reference. My high school didn't have so much of the nerds. Her's was an extreme.
Case in point. She's applying for cool jobs now, so I'm stalking the jobs page of every cool start-up. This apparently leads to me looking at photos of "generic looking nerds." My sister's reaction, "Hey, I think I know that person."
So today, she mentions that one of the people from her high school is working at a well-known start-up (whose page I happened to be examining yesterday). I go back to the page and scroll around as we talk about the lack of women in the field. (The recruitment team was skewed toward women though maybe not as much as engineer team was toward men.) I comment about how there are nerds and then there are people who really stand out as nerds. Extra pale skin. Extra nerdy props. Turns out of all the people working at the start-up, the guy I picked out as the nerdiest is the one she knows.
A nerd among nerds I tell you.
Now then, I'm off to read Girl Genius.
I don't really care that you can see the end of the story coming a mile away
I'm writing it to remember it for me, more than to amuse you
Friday, March 9, 2012
Something to make me smile
Two weeks ago was the funeral.
Which means that two and three-quarters weeks ago I changed my computer background to what it was through most of my undergrad years.
My grandparents. Years and years ago. I think of it as "the courtship photo." My sister refers to it as "argyle socks."
But really it shows me love and style. Something a little bit classic and a little bit comfort.
It lets me sneak a glimpse of the past to give myself hope for the future.
Which means that two and three-quarters weeks ago I changed my computer background to what it was through most of my undergrad years.
My grandparents. Years and years ago. I think of it as "the courtship photo." My sister refers to it as "argyle socks."
But really it shows me love and style. Something a little bit classic and a little bit comfort.
It lets me sneak a glimpse of the past to give myself hope for the future.
You should comment on the adorableness of the photo.
Maybe not so much the opening sentence,
though know your thoughts and love are felt and appreciated.
Maybe not so much the opening sentence,
though know your thoughts and love are felt and appreciated.
Friday, August 12, 2011
August 12
His shirt said, "I traded my sister for a video game." I asked which sister. Not the two-year-old.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Not talking politics in this post. No really.
“What do you think of the protests in Wisconsin?”
Umm.. I’m sorry, Grandmom. What did you just ask me? Because it sounded like a political question. Wait, you want me to answer that? Erm.. Well. Um. Uh. I mean.
~~~
Supposedly families are the most diverse networks.*Our best friends are people like us. The people we work with chose the job based on similar values. We live in neighborhoods with the type of people we want to resemble. We worship in communities of shared beliefs.
We might know people who aren’t like us, but they’re not who we associate with. If we don’t click with people, then they can fall away from our lives. But family you’re stuck with no matter how different the paths you go down.
~~~
I didn’t come up with the most eloquent answer. I’m a little (but only a little) bit conflicted. Unions can be a big business. They can be part of the problem. But I do believe that the can offer important protection.
“Did you have to join a union when you taught?”
“No, Grandmom. My school wasn’t unionized. I think it could have helped if they had been.”
~~~
We don’t talk politics in my family. At least not that side of my extended family.
Granted, there are cousins who bring up issues sometimes. I missed the summer at the beach where the California cousin said something referring to global warming. The South Carolina cousin protested, “You don’t actually believe that do you?”
But my Grandmother stays out of the conversations. During college, my parents confirmed that she votes the other side of the ticket than I do. I suspected, but didn’t know. It's just not something we discuss.
~~~
“Because you know, when your Aunt was teaching in New York, she had to pay union dues.”
Did she now? How about that.
~~~
I struggle with the deep divide in American culture. I’ve lived in places where I felt way too liberal and places where I identified with the more conservative community members. I carry both of them with me, if only to the extent that I know the arguments on either side. And I hate the other-izing of the opposition. As someone who has been the the minority for over half my life, even in a privileged position, it’s not comfortable.
I firmly believe that the best way for the country, the world, to combat this ostracizing of each other is to talk to people on the other side.
I believe that I have benefited by my relationships with people who are not like me. But I’m not sure that they have been benefited by their relationship with me. I’m afraid that I camouflage too readily. That I know that you’re different from me, but if you don’t figure it out I’m not going to tell you. And if you do figure it out, or ask questions around the issue, I’ll hedge.
~~~
“It’s been good talking to you, Grandmom. I love you.”
“Love you too, sweetie.”
*Don’t ask for my citations, because the best I’ve got is a lecture last year.
Umm.. I’m sorry, Grandmom. What did you just ask me? Because it sounded like a political question. Wait, you want me to answer that? Erm.. Well. Um. Uh. I mean.
~~~
Supposedly families are the most diverse networks.*Our best friends are people like us. The people we work with chose the job based on similar values. We live in neighborhoods with the type of people we want to resemble. We worship in communities of shared beliefs.
We might know people who aren’t like us, but they’re not who we associate with. If we don’t click with people, then they can fall away from our lives. But family you’re stuck with no matter how different the paths you go down.
~~~
I didn’t come up with the most eloquent answer. I’m a little (but only a little) bit conflicted. Unions can be a big business. They can be part of the problem. But I do believe that the can offer important protection.
“Did you have to join a union when you taught?”
“No, Grandmom. My school wasn’t unionized. I think it could have helped if they had been.”
~~~
We don’t talk politics in my family. At least not that side of my extended family.
Granted, there are cousins who bring up issues sometimes. I missed the summer at the beach where the California cousin said something referring to global warming. The South Carolina cousin protested, “You don’t actually believe that do you?”
But my Grandmother stays out of the conversations. During college, my parents confirmed that she votes the other side of the ticket than I do. I suspected, but didn’t know. It's just not something we discuss.
~~~
“Because you know, when your Aunt was teaching in New York, she had to pay union dues.”
Did she now? How about that.
~~~
I struggle with the deep divide in American culture. I’ve lived in places where I felt way too liberal and places where I identified with the more conservative community members. I carry both of them with me, if only to the extent that I know the arguments on either side. And I hate the other-izing of the opposition. As someone who has been the the minority for over half my life, even in a privileged position, it’s not comfortable.
I firmly believe that the best way for the country, the world, to combat this ostracizing of each other is to talk to people on the other side.
I believe that I have benefited by my relationships with people who are not like me. But I’m not sure that they have been benefited by their relationship with me. I’m afraid that I camouflage too readily. That I know that you’re different from me, but if you don’t figure it out I’m not going to tell you. And if you do figure it out, or ask questions around the issue, I’ll hedge.
~~~
“It’s been good talking to you, Grandmom. I love you.”
“Love you too, sweetie.”
*Don’t ask for my citations, because the best I’ve got is a lecture last year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)