My Family

As a kid I always envisioned that I would have lots of kids, so they could have a big family like mine. It’s like this whole little community right at the tip of your fingers. For me, my family’s my doctor, tutor, party partner, therapist, entertainment and basically my most valuable resource. At the center of it all are my parents. They’re the ones that have kept us sane through the years and made sure we shaped up okay.

One of the most monumental injuries I got as a kid was when I busted my chin open. We all had gone to a park and my brother Ethan, my sister Eve, and I had discovered that if someone stands in the middle of the seesaw and pushes down by shifting their weight while two other people sit in the designated seats you could get it going extra fast. We got it going so fast once that I lost control of my body and came slamming down on the handlebar with my chin, giving myself a sizable wound along with a chipped tooth. 

My mom, calm as ever, brought me home, made a quick stop at Walgreens on the way, and closed up the wound in less than 10 minutes. It was the coolest thing ever. For as long as I can remember she’s been the voice of calm in our house. 

“Break it down into smaller steps” she tells me after I have a meltdown because I waited till the last minute to start on my poster.

“You’ll heal, just give it some time and rest” she says after I show her my swollen ankle. 

Now that I have two younger sisters who constantly fight, I admire her for her patients to deal with us.

My dad on the other hand was a childish one (in a good way). He’s always the one getting us to cliff dive or make a human triangle of ten people with us. 

During spring break one year we were out in Colorado for a ski trip. I had gotten pretty good at skiing by that time and was confident enough to do some blacks, but somehow my dad had convinced me to do a double black. 

“You can do it!” he told me “It’s really not that hard, just a few trees and moguls and the view is spectacular.” 

Ha. 

Every other turn we had to stop so I could pick myself off the ground or unstick my skis from a snowbank I had run into. The whole run down I was quietly cursing him under my breath until I reached the lower sections of the run. I couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful place. Snow coated the trees, a stream ran alongside the trail and the sun peeked through highlighting patches of the snow.  You win this time dad. 

I’ve come to find that ending up in situations I never imagined myself in is a common occurrence with him and I have him to thank for a lot of my more entertaining memories. 

As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized as much as I hate to admit it, pretty much everything in my life, my goals, beliefs and personality stems from them. I love to explore thanks to my dad, and I’m interested in medicine thanks to my mom. My dad taught me to love the outdoors and camping, to be a little childish and gave me a great sense of direction. I definitely got my patients from my mom along with my inability to sit still. Also, if I ever had to parent, I would want to do it like them. 

It’s interesting to think about, but also a little sad. Was I really that easily influenced? I can see it in my siblings too. We all love sports and nature and share similar beliefs.

Haven't quite figured out an ending yet :)