Sunday, April 12, 2009

Issues

The thing about growing up Hexum is my siblings and I have issues, or "quirks," if you will. I don't know why we have them or where we got them, but we have them. Maybe members of other families also have them. But we like to think we're unique, for whatever reason. When I talk about issues, or "quirks," I mean that my baby sister actually thinks that when she's driving down the road, it just might be possible that gravity is going to just quit working one day and she's going to go off in her car, flying through space. This was the most ridiculous and far-fetched thing I had ever heard anyone having a paranoia about. What's even more "quirky" and weird, is that another of my sisters, months later, mentioned the exact same phobia. WHO THINKS THIS WAY???? Then there's Kady (whose quirks I sometimes share) who feels the need to make herself a public spectacle or laughingstock. Only the problem is, people rarely laugh. Like the time in England when we got off the train at night. In the last car was an older man who, it appeared, was just returning home from a posh London job. He was the kind of man, or gent, who should be wearing a top hat, spats, and a monocle. Kady decides to do one of the "I'm off to the big war, wait for me, sweetheart, I love you" type of scenes where she runs after the train with a raised hand and waves as if she'll never see him again. Does the guy react? NOPE! (For more examples of Kady's issues, please tune in to http://www.kadyhexum.blogspot.com/. Especially, the "Elevators" post.) Keri - she'll wait inside a public bathroom for someone to enter, so she can leave when she's finished, if the door is an in-swing style door, and there are no paper towels with which to touch the door handle. Not that I feel this is totally weird. One of my proudest moments as a mother was the day I took my children to the Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore and allowed Skeeter to use the men's bathroom by himself. I'm in the gift shop enjoying looking at all the tourist stuff I would never buy, and I hear a muted, "MOM!" coming from inside the men's bathroom. Thinking he may be in some sort of trouble, I opened the door to hear, "Thanks, mom. There weren't any paper towels, so I couldn't open the door to get out." I love it. My quirks: Are you kidding? I don't have any.

7 comments:
kasey said...
I'm sorry, but I feel this fear of gravity stopping is completely legit. At least I am not afraid of balloons, like my sister in law Shene, ridiculous.
November 2, 2008 12:15 PM
Kelly said...
I gave the fear of losing gravity to Kasey, Sorry its one of my biggest. I actually hope that when it happens, I'm in my home, so that I don't float away into space. Another fear: while skiing I fear that I will just randomly jump off the lift. Sometimes I wrap my arm around the back of seat, just in case it happens.
November 5, 2008 1:57 PM
Kim said...
Your rational self won't stop you from just jumping off the lift? You'll just happen to be over some wide open space, and you'll think to yourself, hmmmm, I think I'll jump! ??
November 5, 2008 4:56 PM
kadyhexum said...
Sometimes I have a fear that while driving down the highway at breakneck speeds, I will purposely drive into a tree. I have to stop myself from doing it.Or in a plane I fear that I might try to break the window near my seat.
November 6, 2008 10:28 AM
Hanna said...
I think the jumping off a ski lift thing is rational. I have the same thing. Most of the way up I just imagine what would happen when I hit the ground, would I land perfectly and ski all the way down the hill backwards? Or would I land and instantly stop at that spot and make a loud crunching noise? I also imagine that other people jump off next to me and I grab them and hold their arm all the way until the top of the hill, where they discover my shoulder is dislocated so they send the emergency people for me and I am a big hero. An even more far fetched fantasy is that a little child on the chair behind me slips and is dangeling there, hanging by one arm. I kick off my skis, climb the chair onto the cable that all the chairs are attached to, climb along it to their chair, climb down, and pull the kid back up to safety. This will never happen of course because there are not very small children riding chair lifts by themselves and it would be a miracle if I even managed to climb up to the cable, and I would never be able to lift a small child with just one arm.
November 10, 2008 10:18 PM
kadyhexum said...
Hanna do you think about this while on the chairlift, or while laying in your bed?p.s. I need to add that I also have a fear that I will stick my tongue on frozen metal outside. Even though I know I'm not supposed to do it, I'm afraid I will.
November 11, 2008 10:27 AM
mom said...
Nuts....you're all nuts.
November 18, 2008 9:35 AM

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