Day 1 in NoJoMo 2013

They call it "NoJoMo," for what reason, I can't comprehend. I've been doing it for the past few years, normally in my usual (private) writing outlet. I posted my entries last year to no fanfare, whatsoever, but.. Whatever. This is where I bloviate.

On to the prompts....

Day 1 – Write about what makes your family unique.

I suppose the real question here is, "what do I consider family?" In the conventional sense (you know, marry, rent a house from the bank, form babby), it's just me and my wife. I don't anticipate that changing until one (or both) of us dies. She puts up with a lot living with a slovenly nerd like me; I don't want anyone else. Ever.

The family from which I came is kind of a traditional family. For my hipster acquaintances, it might be called, "nuclear." I am the elder of two boys. My parents were together for over forty years. We lived many places around the US, and overseas. And if a Farker reads this, yes, I was born in Florida. My dad spent nearly 25 years in the Army. I attended three high schools. My parents both were from the vicinity of that land mass between New Orleans and Mobile.

My wife's situation is similar, though kind of a mirror opposite. Her dad was Navy. She's the younger of two daughters. She spent most of her life in Virginia, attended just one high school, etc.. Even though she, too, was downloaded in <strike>East Alabama</strike>Florida. Kinda got that yin-yang thing going on. (I wanted to link the video of the end of Fight Club here, but YouTube is as broken as healthcare.gov right now...) Her family is from near the opposite end of US Route 11. (And now I could totally go for some chips.)

Extended family, it gets confusing. I know next to nothing about my paternal grandfather. My paternal grandmother was a fascinating lady, but I don't know a ton about her. My maternal grandfather is still alive (and I need to call him; it's his birthday next week). My dad's two younger brothers are still around (and one of them shares a birthday with my grandpa, so two calls! And a Birthday Problem.).

So what makes that unique? Hell if I know. But it is mine, and mine, alone. So, in that sense, it is unique, I suppose..

And, with the prompt exhausted, so am I (unlike the oven in Fight Club). I didn't think about writing this year until a couple of days ago. Same thing with trying to buy Shmoocon ticket(s). Well, at least I can say I didn't fail at starting on one of them....