brief snapshots in time. memories and thoughts. disorganized and random.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

just another family dinner

the whole family was at dinner. I got lucky enough to sit next to my grandma. she and I talked quietly while chaos ensued around us.

we were celebrating three birthdays. my brother's, sister-in-law's and mine. my adorable nearly-two-year-old niece was dancing and laughing and entertaining us.

the chaos reminded me of something. one of my roommates spent Thanksgiving at our house one year. her husband ends up in Denver from time to time for training. she told him he should decline any invitations to holidays at my house. I thought that a little harsh.

but apparently not all families talk non-stop. apparently not all families take turns telling hilarious stories about their siblings, somewhat shocking the aunts and parents around the table. apparently there are quiet family dinners.

we've never had a quiet family dinner. with only the four kids and my parents it was always a bit loud and chaotic. add in a little extended family, and the chaos grows. the one-upping increases.

back to the birthday dinner. there were only ten of us. but ten is more than enough to create chaos. we made waitresses frazzled, caused the manager to check on us repeatedly, all the while, most of my family is oblivious.

my brothers and sister are all very much of the opinion that being a little too assertive gets them what they want. for my oldest brother and my little sister, it pretty much always has. somewhere along the way the second oldest brother decided that was the way to get what he wanted in life. be, well, a little more selfish and a little too assertive. so at dinner, they're all telling stories, louder and more important than the last.

somehow I missed that gene. the one that causes the desire to be louder and more demanding than my siblings. I can be assertive when it's really important, but I never felt I needed to be the center of attention.

that's why I sometimes feel that I might be my grandma's favorite. I listen to her. I talk to her. I don't talk at her, like my siblings sometimes do. that's why it was so nice to sit next to her quietly talking.

it was a good dinner. great to see my family. another birthday celebration. another slightly-less-selfish wish. another little self-realization. I'm glad I missed the standout gene. I like my quiet place in my family. although I love all of them very much, sometimes I'm glad we're not too similar.

8 comments:

Jeremy said...

With 6 boys in the house... our family get togethers might as well have a half-time show where someone throws frisbees or mini footballs into the crowd.

We have one coming up at the end of the month for my little brother Sam's birthday (And I think he has a special announcment regarding his girlfriend) but I will have to let you know how it goes. Might be a good topic for my first video blog.

Beans said...

Its awesome that you have family dinners! My family consists of me and my brother and his family, which is all of 2 people, one of which hasnt even been born yet. Apart of me would really love to have the kind of chaos that you have.
Im not my gramma's fav. Actually, I dont think im anyone's fave. My brother told me one time I was his favorite sister but Im his only sister so that never really made sense.

Rainypete said...

If someone's afraid of sitting down to eat with a family that communicates well and cares about each other enough to talk, taht's their problem. Besides I'll bet they miss a hell of a meal too!

Anonymous said...

Our family dinners are just like that...mainly with my brother, brother-in-law and mother being the loud and assertive ones, but always with a lot of fun and laughter around the table. When friends/boyfriends come along it can get a little embarassing...for them and for us! Glad you had a good time.

Jerk Of All Trades 2.0 said...

I'm my grammys favorite too!

RG, I KNEW you'd get the joke!

My last post that is.

You're SO cool!

Robb said...

Sounds like you have a fun family!

Susan said...

Sounds like you have a really cool family RG!

Anonymous said...

Ha! I thought my family was the only one like that. My grandmother has 6 kids and 27 grandchildren, I've lost count of great grandchildren. I think I may be the only one who didn't get the "loud gene". Sometimes I think the stork dropped me off at the wrong house. It's always fun for me to see everyone get together and share their stories, loud or not. I am just happy to sit on the side and listen. :-D