My Cast of Characters - The People

Since this is the last day of February and I haven't made a single post yet this month, I was thinking this might be a good time to introduce the wonderful insanity that surrounds me. Don’t get me wrong, I love insanity. I don’t know what I’d do with calm, orderly and quiet people in my house. It would be incredibly boring, that much I know.

First up, there’s the man I have spent the last 19 years partnering with in all my madness. He’s a pretty amazing guy. I discovered long ago that he can take absolutely nothing and make the most amazing things. For instance, when our oldest was six and I found myself sick beyond function on Christmas Eve, he took a cardboard box and made the most incredible city for the little guy’s Matchbox cars. It remains one of the coolest Christmases in memory.

The eldest child, aka “The Dude”. When he was in grade school, the kids nicknamed him Taz. Let’s just say he was a little on the active side. He liked the nickname so much that, not only did he do everything possible to live up to it, he started collecting Tasmanian Devil stuff. He had figurines, stuffed toys, clocks, even a cookie jar. If it had the classic cartoon connected with it, he wanted it.

He is now 22 and living in Houston having finished school last year. Still wild and crazy but all about cars and his motorcycle now. I just wish they were still of the Matchbox variety. (I’ll highlight the “body art” in another post.)

Son #2 two is the total opposite in activity level than his brother. When he was little and I looked up to tell him it was time to get his jammies on and get ready for bed, I usually found that he had already done it. In fact, it wasn’t all that rare to find him already in bed asleep without ever having said a word. Shortly after our daughter was born, he earned the title of “The calm between two storms.”

We often call him our Johnny Carson kid because he is the shiest and most quiet kid we know but has won several awards for acting and loves all things movies and theater. This picture was taken this past December when he played Bob Cratchet in a community theater production of A Christmas Carol (another post that is long overdue)

Then there's The Peanut. She just turned 13-years old a couple weeks ago but is two to three years behind in growth. No worries, though. She is right on target to grow exactly as I did and I’m a massive 5’3”.
Every bit as active as her oldest brother was, her pint size makes her a perfect fit for gymnastics. But she also likes to help me work with the horses and rescue every animal she comes in contact with…even if they already have a home.

There you have it: My brood, my clan, my posse, the insanity that surrounds me… not to mention, the topic of several of my posts.