I am from numerous stories:

Of love and faith

Of hardship and

Humor.

 

From

Apple picking

And

Raking leaves, then

Jumping into the piles.

 

I come from

Hot German tempers and

Stubborness.

Cool Dutch sense and

Sensibility.

 

I am from playing

Dress up and

Pretend, wondering what it’s like to be a

Princess,

Pirate, or

Peter Pan.

 

Then running out into the dark

Street with plastic pumpkins,

Seeing who can get the most candy, and

Running back home when getting scared by

The big kids. Then

Watching with satisfaction as they run screaming from my dad,

Zorro, the Spanish thief and master swordsman.

 

From

A little sister,

My complete opposite, but who’s also

My twin. Who grew up to be

My teacher, instead of

Vice versa, how it’s supposed to be.

But she’s never been one to do things

The normal way.

I come from

Practical, outdoorsy,

Hardworking

Men, who hate

Change and

Shopping, for groceries, or for

Clothes.

 

I am from

Baking, talkative,

Emotional

Women, who love

New things and

Shopping for deals, or just with a tower of

Coupons.

 

From

The first day of kindergarten,

Dressed in a pale blue shirt and jean

Shorts. With a pink backpack with

Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty on it.

 

I come from

“Mr. Rogers Neighborhood”,

“Barney”,

“Mary Poppins”, and

“Veggie Tales” with

Bob, the red tomato.

 

I am from childhood storybooks

Goodnight Moon,

Forever and Always, and

I Love You This Much.

 

From

Birthday parties at

Chuckie Cheese’s and

Getting up at five in the morning

To see what Santa brought us

Through Grandpa’s chimney.  

 

I come from

Teachers and

Lawyers and

Farmers, who never

Buy more than they need.

 

From camping,

“Making do” with what we had,

Even if what we had was more than enough to survive.

Listening to the birds, the wind through the trees, and myself constantly asking,

“What kind of bird (or tree, or animal, or print) is that?”  

 

I am from

Fourth of July fireworks, getting

Eaten alive by mosquitos.

Taking walks in the spring, talking about

Nothing and

Everything.

 

I come from the

Loss

Of Grandpa, whose

Biggest hope was for us to

Finish school, because he

Never did.

 

Losses of

Friends, resulting from

Mean girls,

Moving houses, and

Moving on with life.

 

Losing my constant smile that

“Lit up the whole world” and my

“Happy-go-lucky nature.” I never knew

That I was ever that way.

Losing my “little girl ways.” What were

Those ways that I’ve forgotten?

 

From

Gains

Of marriages of my cousin and uncle.

 

That resulted in

Two second cousins, a

Sassy girl and a

Sweet boy.

 

As well as

Two cousins, two boys

Who both love being

Who they are.

 

I am from

Witty humor and

Generous givers, who

Never fail to give their strong opinion on anything,

Even when it’s not popular.

 

From

Music, issuing from the

Piano, from since age seven,

Or from the

CD player, which handed out songs,

“Can’t Smile Without You”,

“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”,

“Who Let the Dogs Out?”,

“Wake Me Up When September Ends”, and the classic

Alphabet Song.

 

Or sometimes from

My dad, who sang me to sleep with

“Sleep, Baby, Sleep” and

“You’re My Little Potato”.

 

I come from

My friends, who vary from

Quiet and studious, to the

Writers and video gamers, to the

Smart and insane, or those friends who are often a

Combination of all of these things.

 

The only thing they all have in common?

Easy.

They’re all different.

And they’re not afraid to

Show it.

 

I am from

Compliments, the best being

“You look like your mom, and you two

Are just so alike.”

I try to live up to that every day.

 

From

Memories.

On

Walls, mantels and shelves.

In

Scrapbooks, the basement and garage.

Forever

Kept in my heart, so that

Even if my head fails, the

Memories will never fade or disappear.

 

Memories of

 

Where

 

I’m

From.