Friday, June 29, 2007

A Family Resemblance

I am sure most of us have stories of being told you look like Uncle So and So, oh, you have Auntie What's Her Bucket's nose... It is a natural human instinct to try and find where we belong. In a culture that values community over all else, this becomes incredibly important. Knowing who is family and who is not, was life and death not so very long ago. I was astonished a few years ago. I had been attending a large gathering for people who work with the Native American communities and chatting with someone. When she found out what my tribal affliation was, she looked long and hard at me and said, "You look like a..." and blurted out the name of my maternal grandfather, I was impressed, but not too much, because anytime I go home, I get pegged for looking just like my family all the time. (Oh you must be a..., you look just like them) But then the young woman continued to gaze at me and said, but you also look like a.... Then I was really impressed because she had pinpointed my maternal grandmother's line. Wow. I realized the ability to distingush families and resemblances is most likely a culturally taught concept.
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Dang! Ain't I cute? And I can see why some people have wondered if I had some sort of Asian blood.
I was really surprised when our Little Man arrived and I thought he looked very much like me and my family.
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I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised, his tribe is one of the ones that neighbors my tribe, I am sure we share more than just a few alleles.
No one ever asks me if my boy is adopted, besides being a bit browner than the other kids, he fits right in, looks wise.*

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My Little Pea has entered an age where she reminds me greatly of her mommy. I find my self shifting back and forth in time as I play with her, feeling as if I am back 22 years and then shifting back to the present. Tell me what you think....

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And now. On to the minor crisis of the moment. Poor Girlfriend, she mourning the fact June Bug looks just like her daddy!

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Girlfriend is blonde and was a tow headed youngster, all of her siblings are blonde. So to look at this sweet baby and see dark where she had supposed she would see light has been a shock.

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She was warned though. Bald Man told her that I have domineering genes and to give up hope the child would look like her. June Bug got Girlfriend's pouty lips, but the rest is all us.

*Not that I care, really. But adoption has so many issues revolving around loss, and one of the things adoptees mourn is loss of family resemblance.

5 Kids Who Want To Play:

ipodmomma said...

love all the beautiful pics of your family.... and that new baby, what a dish!

Sarah said...

All those gorgeous pics... I don't know where to start... you have a beautiful family!

K J and the kids said...

You have a BEAUTIFUL family.
I've heard that when you are raised with someone, you start to look like them. It is safe to say that goes for your family :)

P.S. Your son's girlfriend or maybe your son, shouldn't start counting his chickens just yet. My little Syd was DARK DARK when she was born. Certain to be the next brown haired, brown eyed child in our family.
She is now light blonde-brown and her eyes have gone from blue to grey-green. WILD !

bon said...

That is too funny with the daughter/granddaughter pics!

I feel for Girlfriend... everyone in my family has blue or green eyes, and so far all three of my girls eyes are brown. Go figure!

There are several clans of Navajo who have VERY Asian looking babies/toddlers... so much so that I had a girlfriend get t-shirts made for her kids that say "I am not Asian... I am Navajo!"

Not So Anonymous Michelle said...

A big AWWWW!!! Is all that comes to mind...what fantastic pictures! I REALLY love the big family picture, I love how it's like a giant hug...like all the men in back form a hug shape around the group...I don't know maybe it's just me...that's what it remind me of. Great family!