Anybody ever ask their parents, "was I adopted?" Maybe one day in your childhood you looked to your left, then to your right and thought, I'm nothing like them, nothing like them at all.
Having 6 sisters and 3 brothers there was a lot of comparison to make. Sure we all had the blond hair, blue eyes and the same set of parents but beyond that I was definitely the outsider. I was the mouthy one, the emotional one, the one with the weight problem and an astigmatism worthy of some pretty regrettable choices in eye wear.
The biggest difference beyond my unfortunate dress size was my sense of humor. I was the one who wanted to turn tears into laughter. Many times I had to suppress some of that drive when times called for a more serious demeanor such as a funeral or during a class discussion of a historic tragedy. My mind would wander, I visualized everything I heard or read and it usually took on a funny twist. Maybe this was a mental defect or a defense mechanism to prevent further damage to my tortured psyche, (ya know, being the fat kid and all) or maybe it is a trait I am blessed with to get me through what was and what is to come in this life.
Now you are visualizing me walking around with my head tilted to one side laughing to myself all day. No, that's not quite accurate. I have a serious side and I access that portion of my personality when I need to but for the most part I am happy with this unusual visual perception of the world. It makes the more trying moments just a little less catastrophic. I have been able to put it to good use during stressful doctor visits, tense
IEP meetings and moments when Daniel was having a particularly bad time of it.
It is a trait that has served me well and one I hope to pass down to my children even though I'm pretty sure there is no genetics involved because like I said at the beginning, I'm not like them, nothing like them at all.
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