Family Heritage

"Love lives beyond

The tomb, the earth, which fades like dew.

I love the fond,

The faithful and the true."

--John Clare, "Love Lives"

Where, do you wonder, did I get my:

1. obsession with organization? My aunt, on my Dad's side. She's very OCD, and frankly, I love it to bits, just because she seems so clean about the whole business. So, that would explain why I'm very picky about soap, detergent, recycling, and other random crap that people find irritating to be organized about.
2. addiction to lists? My mom's mother. My mom discovered how much I listed stuff and she informed me that my Nana did it, too. This was proven to me later by me finding one of her lists in a box somewhere. We also seem to have the same love of weird stickers, since I own a whole bunch of her "lick this sticker of a baby" stickers left in my art box...
3. love of going all-out for gifts? My mom's brother. Once for Christmas, he got a Santa bag, made sled marks in the snow, and fake reindeer prints and left all of my gifts outside, just like if someone jacked Santa Claus. Best Christmas ever, except he forgot to list one gift to me from him, so I thought my uncle hated me that year.
4. realist views, or pessimism? My mom's sister. She is a very, er, blunt lady. Usually, though, I find it hilarious. She got so fed up with me whining one day that she made a huge "JENNA STOP WHINING" sign and taped it to the doors. I'm glad she set me straight, because whining is annoooooyyyyyiiiiiiinnnnnggggg.
5. thriftiness? My sister. I found out she collected change in this big ole piggy bank and saved up to eighty bucks. She became my hero. She shops thrift stores like I do and she always finds the neatest stuff. Unfortunately, I find crappy pearl necklaces that break in a day.
6. creativity? My mom. She used to set up my dolls in my dollhouse before I woke up so that they would be doing something different every day. She's so thoughtful, it's insane!
7. goofiness? My dad. Just meet my dad. You'll see. One birthday, he wore a tutu on his head and talked like a lady the whole day. This was before I learned to be embarrassed.
8. love of old things? My grandpa. He would sing these songs from the thirties to make me smile and now I know all of them by heart. We also developed a love of cartoons together.