Maybe I'm not the Black Sheep

Sometimes I get the feeling that my family is constantly at odds with me - for good reason - sometimes I can't always commit to weekend activites... (C'mon. I'm a wedding photographer, and I sing in a band... I guess it stands to reason that my weekends are full...) Sometimes I have to cancel, or can't devote the energy I need to write something on my calendar (yes, you can read that as pathetically as it sounded... I'm awful.) I'm ALSO awful about birthdays. It's not that I don't want to send cards - it's just that I seldom remember to send them on time. Honest. I mean well - but mostly, I feel like I let my family down - a lot.

And then there are the times when I stick my nose into their business and shouldn't. I recall a time when I was fairly certain my brother and his wife (this one) weren't getting along. I called my brother and asked if everything was okay in his marriage. I spent the next YEAR being mocked incessantly - "Doctor Planer! My marriage is falling apart..." You get the idea. Then there were days like THIS one (It's a long story - so you'll just have to go there and read about it.)

And don't forget how upset my sister was about my wedding - or the fact that she's insisting on throwing me a bridal shower - next week (I'm calling it a get together...)

I'm a pain in the ass.

Then a few things have happened that surprised me... Like last week. My family had their annual picnic - and of course, being the weekend worker that I am, couldn't go because the band played. After, I called my cousin, Deb, to see how it went. She reported, "It was no good without you and Gwen (my sister) there.... No one talked to each other. We needed you guys to spice things up."

I was beginning to feel only slightly better - and then - I remembered this:

A few years ago, my sister called me, explaining that my then 9 year old nephew had an assignment to write a paragraph on a family member, and he chose me - and would I mind answering a few questions... I agreed, so she put my nephew on the phone:

Ian: What's your full name?
Kell: (gave full name)
Ian: Where do you live?
Kell: (gave address)
Ian: What do you do for a living?
Kell: I make TV (which was what I did at the time - and it was easier than explaining what that entailed...)
Ian: Ok. That's all I need to know. Thanks Aunt Kelly!
Kell: That's it?
Ian: Yep. That's a paragraph.