Courtesy of nutritional education store
My family isn’t crazy. Well, it is but not in the same way some families are.
One of my high school friends came from a real crazy family. Her house was just plain nuts.
Everyone talked at the same time in a very loud voice. No one listened to anyone and everyone laughed a lot. Or maybe they yelled a lot. It was hard to tell the difference at the high decibel level.
At my house a high decibel level meant I was in trouble. At her house it would mean her mother loved her; she was in big trouble; or anything in between.
They were close and protective. If anyone was threatened or hurt, everyone was there to “fix it.” It was something like My Greek Wedding meets The Godfather although they were neither Greek nor Italian.
Everyone wore everyone else’s clothes even if it didn’t fit. They borrowed stuff all the time and occasionally broke it. That was always good for a rousing discussion or a long-term feud but you never knew which.
All music was played loudly along with the TV… at the same time everyone was talking….loudly.
I would end up with a headache if I spent too much time there.
Holiday dinners were fun for a while. There was a lot of good food and the stories were funny. That is until the old uncle got overly drunk and obnoxious and everyone started swinging. That’s when it was time to say, “Gotta go!” I’m not much for brawls.
I remember visiting my friend’s aunt and uncle on a Sunday afternoon. We were driving by their house and my friend knew they would be hurt if she didn’t stop to say hi.
We were there for about two hours. In that course of time, they put out more food than the Sixth Fleet could eat. They also gave us beer. I am not a big drinker but I am known to quaff one or two.
At one point there were three unopened beer cans in front of me (way over my quota) because (they said) I wasn’t keeping up. I told them to keep them in the refrigerator so they stayed cold but I may as well have been talking to the wall. The cans were sitting there unopened when I left.
Both of them were heavy smokers with that loud raspy voice that makes everything sound funnier. They were outspoken about their opinions and were quick to regale us with stories of the local legion posts and various bars and of course, bingo.
They did like their bingo. They take it seriously and you better not fool with it.
I always enjoyed their families but was glad to come home to my peaceful group.
Is your family crazy? Loud? Peaceful? Distant? Non-existent? Did you have friends that were….ummm….different?
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
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My godparents and my folks couldn’t have been more different. My parents were quiet and reserved. My godparents were exuberant and big huggers. Both environments helped shape me. I miss them all.
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That sounds like a good balance. So…are you more like your parents or your godparents?
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Depends on the day, but I’m probably more like my parents. I can be a loner, comfortable in my own skin. They did like to joke around and I do, too. 😉
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I love your “Crazy Family” story! I grew up in a quiet family. I married a quiet man. We had a son and our family stayed quiet. Only now there is a bevy of grandgirls who are very noisy and always talking loudly and laughing and we all have to be loud to keep up with them. This may be a good thing since with age comes the beginning of hearing loss!
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Yes! It’s why wrinkles come after you lose your ability to see close-up.
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I was an only but both my Mom’s and my Dad’s family was big! My Mom’s family was Irish and Dad’s family was Scottish. It got pretty rowdy and yep they were crazy. My husband’s family is pretty tame compared to what I was use to. No yelling and only civilized behavior allowed. No arguing and only make nice. I loved all the rowdy crazy behavior! Well, wait, sometimes I wanted to run away.. 😀
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But it was fun!
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Sounds like a Filipino family. Mine is exactly like this. LOUD.
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and your family is big too.
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Way too BIG. I hide when everyone is talking so much since I don’t want to have a shouting match.
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Kate — This one really hits a buzzer for me. Lots of kids in my family, but ‘quiet hour’ was the law of the land. One of the joys being swallowed up into Rick’s south side polish catholic clan was the NOISE! But it was their way of saying “I love you”. Tender words? Not so much. Calling after us from down the entire length of the block as we pulled away from the house? Priceless. Noise and quiet – ying and yang – summer and winter. I trusted the noise…odd how it gives me quiet strength now. Thanks for the post. Really well done. Dan
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OMG! This was a Polish Catholic clan too.
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See! Spooky and yet, oh so cool. This being Fat Tuesday, paczkis anyone? Dan
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Ummm….I’d love one!
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Life at our house was very quiet but I had a friend with a big Italian family. When I went to her house for supper I was amazed at how noisy it was. Not only were they loud but the forks and knives clattered against the dishes! It was fun but kind of overwhelming after awhile.
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That’s what I thought about this friend. I like to go there and I liked to go home. Her mom was a great cook and I enjoyed the ethnic food.
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My family can definitely be boisterous, but the biggest thing “outsiders” notice is that we are extraordinarily demonstrative. If you are at my mom’s and excuse yourself to go to the restroom, chances are you are going to have to hug and kiss everyone goodbye before you go, and hello when you get back. And we don’t push the alcohol, but we’ve been known to pack food in to unsuspecting victims.
BTW, for a minute I thought you were headed in a different direction when I read “everyone started swinging” but I guess they were fighters, not lovers. 🙂
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Huggers….hmmm….one of my exes had a huggy-kissy family. Too bad they didn’t like each other! I know your family is close from your posts. As for swinging, hey, I was kid then!
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LOL! Sounds like a boisterous bunch, Kate. I wonder if it has anything to do with the speed at which they quaffed those adult beverages?
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I expect that helped.
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I had four siblings and both sides of the family were large in number. The first summer I was married I took my husband, Michael, to a maternal family reunion! He almost lost it diving into that humongous crowd of relatives…his family was very small and totally subdued. He survived and we’re living happily ever after and our family numbers 22; we can get a tad noisy but remain acceptably conversational…a decent decibel count. Neither my hubby or I can survive in a ‘loud crowd’…drives us nuts! P.S. We lived in Greece for a couple of years and Greek’s make a lot of noise! But they’re wonderful!!! Loved the ‘Big Fat Greek Wedding’…happiness deluxe!
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My own extended family is large as my parents had lots of siblings. They could get noisy at a picnic but it wasn’t anything like this friend’s family.
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Coming from a quiet family, I get overwhelmed when I’m in situations like that, Kate. However, I did love the move, My Big Fat Greek Wedding!
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I enjoyed small doses of my friend’s family. They were a fun group but since I didn’t grow up with that, it was sensory overload when I was there too long. Maybe some things are better in a movie.
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Never mess with bingo….or the drunk uncle! 8)
Both sides of my family are much more subdued. Some loud laughter but disagreements are handled hush-hush.
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That’s pretty much like my family.
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