Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Where I'm From

I am from typewriters, from Lisa Frank notebooks, from tacky jewelry, from ghost stories piled high around my room, from Murder, She Wrote, and the Muppets.

I am from educational games, well-decorated spaces, spice-scented candles lit in the evenings, glasses of wine glowing around an outside fire, laughter, laughter, and more laughter.

I am from the cherry tree I used to climb in Ohio and the honeysuckle that grew at the back fence.

I am from Christmas Eves spent watching White Christmas as a family and stubborness, from strong and terrible and wonderful Penny and kind and hot-tempered and sentimental Tim and from kick-ass, neurotic, brilliant Steven.

I am from loquaciousness laden with sarcasm and the habit to take trips with schedules and goals and fantastic sights rather than lazy-day vacations.

From "Don't let the bed bugs bite" and angels bowling up thunderstorms.

I am from questions of God arising from a youth surrounded by closed-minded but open-mouthed "Christians", from planted and nurtured mustard seeds within seminary walls, and fruit of faith grown on strong but gnarled branches outside in the world.

I'm from Ohio and California, the Carolinas and Washington state, Cincinnati-style chili and homemade pizza.

From the cherished and remembered character and kindness of a man gone before his time tempered by stories of home-brewing beer and lighting farts on fire.  From stories of my father and his brothers running wild during long hot summers in northern Indiana, of close-knit communities where everyone knows everyone and no one locks their doors, even today.  And also from the movement west of so many of our family branches, picking up that west coast flavor and mixing it with some midwestern sensibility - knowing which celebrity's a Hoosier, how to make proper chili, and what to do with lightening bugs.

I am from boxes and bags of mementos and photos, hard drives full of memories, walls covered in pictures of those both near and far whom I love.


I found this from Connie at The Young and the Relentless.  The template to make your own can be found here.

1 comment:

  1. This is wonderful! So fun to read yours. It would make a fantastic scrapbook page. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete