Putting the fun back in dysfunctional

Growing up, my mom would frequently mention that we put the fun in dysfunctional...it wasn't until recently that I realized how true she was.

My family is great about getting issues out in the open...as long as it is behind your back. What we do is get together with some members of the family and then talk about the others, then you switch groups. Since we're a little southern, you hear a lot of "bless his heart" and "I'm only bringing it up out of love and concern". One day I want to out all of them for this crazy tradition. I mean, we are the people of circle of death (if you don't already know about circle of death, you have to wait until Christmas, which is when it occurs), and dinners for 25 people, why can't we just say what is on our mind like other families?

This past weekend I went home to visit. Every holiday, my brother and I ask my mom what she wants as a gift, she always says she wants pictures of us. We oblige her this request every few years. The main reason we don't do this all of the time is because it's creepy. Many photographers we have used try to make us look like we are dating. I realize we are from WV, but inbreeding is not nearly as popular as you may think. So the last thing my brother and I want to do is get dressed up and smile for a camera. But it's been several years and we thought we should bite the bullet. Friday afternoon we went to Kelli's house (remember her? she's the whole reason I ramble endlessly on this page) for our photo shoot. As we are standing there, my brother makes some sarcastic comment to which Kelli pops out from behind her camera and says "you two have the same sense of humor!". I had never thought about just how sarcastic we are and that our parents don't seem so much so. Then it hit me...

We got it from mom. After all, she's the one that talked for years about how she and her best friend were going to open a funeral home. Not only was she going to put the fun back in dysfunctional at home, she and Kaye were going to put the Fun in Funeral. They had a long list of things that they would not allow in the funeral home...the only one I remember now is a light up phone with a banner that said "He got the call." I totally agree with them on this one.

So next time you are reading this and wondering why in the world I can ramble on endlessly, it's because I grew up putting the fun back in dysfunctional.