Family Matters

[thestrangequark]

@thestrangequark, were you/are you a fan of Punky Brewster?

I loved her and she's always been an influence on me.

I watched but my older sister was the real fan. Her style was bomb, but Blossom was a bigger influence on me once I was developing my own sense of fashion. I actually had a pretty distinct look from age 2-5. A really wealthy woman who'd lost her daughter to cancer saw how my mom was struggling, and she gave her a box of a bunch of her daughter's beautiful, expensive, handmade dresses. There were many, many ruffles in my early childhood:

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I watched but my older sister was the real fan. Her style was bomb, but Blossom was a bigger influence on me once I was developing my own sense of fashion. I actually had a pretty distinct look from age 2-5. A really wealthy woman who'd lost her daughter to cancer saw how my mom was struggling, and she gave her a box of a bunch of her daughter's beautiful, expensive, handmade dresses. There were many, many ruffles in my early childhood:

Cute.

 

[Sibyl]

I watched but my older sister was the real fan. Her style was bomb, but Blossom was a bigger influence on me once I was developing my own sense of fashion. I actually had a pretty distinct look from age 2-5. A really wealthy woman who'd lost her daughter to cancer saw how my mom was struggling, and she gave her a box of a bunch of her daughter's beautiful, expensive, handmade dresses. There were many, many ruffles in my early childhood:

Squee!!!

 

[thestrangequark]

BTW in the third picture you can clearly see what my family called my "Spock ear." I had one pointed ear, but sadly during one of the surgeries I had to restore my hearing they also reshaped the ear, and it's no longer pointed. I kinda wish they'd reshaped the other one so that I had matching Vulcan lobs.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

BTW in the third picture you can clearly see what my family called my "Spock ear." I had one pointed ear, but sadly during one of the surgeries I had to restore my hearing they also reshaped the ear, and it's no longer pointed. I kinda wish they'd reshaped the other one so that I had matching Vulcan lobs.

That's cool. I have one slightly pointy eyebrow that I can raise like Spock. A few kids used to make fun of me for it.

 

[thestrangequark]

That's cool. I have one slightly pointy eyebrow that I can raise like Spock. A few kids used to make fun of me for it.

I do see the pointed eyebrow now that you mention it. It's cute!

I was weirdly immune to bullying. I mean, I should have been a prime target; didn't speak until age four (well, I spoke ASL) and had a major speech impediment until age ten. I was chubby, a nerd, a Trekkie, poor, had a weird fashion sense, had an inhaler and a kidney tray in my desk because I puked all the time...but bullying just never happened to me. Guess I lucked out.

Anyway, enough about me. Looking at all these old family pics and tell me this picture of my little sister is not the cutest goddamn Sears photograph ever taken:

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Some really weird family drama is going on for me right now.

I don't want to get into specifics in the near-zero chance that anyone involved posts on this board. But it involves my brother's family, polyamory, a move to a different continent which may or may not be part of a custody ploy, and a coalition of Grandmothers recruiting an army of family members to stop it all.

And I just want my brother to be happy but I'm going to be facing tremendous pressure from my mother to join the army.

 

[Sibyl]

Some really weird family drama is going on for me right now.

I don't want to get into specifics in the near-zero chance that anyone involved posts on this board. But it involves my brother's family, polyamory, a move to a different continent which may or may not be part of a custody ploy, and a coalition of Grandmothers recruiting an army of family members to stop it all.

And I just want my brother to be happy but I'm going to be facing tremendous pressure from my mother to join the army.

I don't envy you in this.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I don't envy you in this.

Thanks.

The thing is, I don’t know enough to conclude whether all three of them fully intend to be a loving couple, or whether it’s a Marriage Story situation and she has been advised that he will have less custody leverage if the children have already moved. If it’s the former I feel I have to support him. If it’s the latter I feel I have to make him see the possibility.

But I don’t know how to deal with her mother calling my mother to badmouth her own daughter, not knowing whether she’s just pulling a move to stop her grandson from moving away or if it’s a genuine insight.

Maybe I can be sneaky and just post how much I loved Marriage Story on Facebook and describe that aspect of the plot. You know, pull a Hamlet.