My children's inheritance

Geoff and I are complete opposites in so many ways. Do you know how they always say that mutts are the healthiest "breed" of dogs? Well I had hoped that our children would be the same and only inherit the good from each of us. Unfortunately it seems that a few of those bad genetic qualities snuck into their DNA.

If you saw a picture of me when I was 15 you would know, without a doubt, that Vicky is my daughter. She did get one great feature of Geoff though - his nose. It's nice and straight, just the way a nose should be. Other than that though she's all mine. At her age I used to have my mom iron my hair on an ironing board to straighten it. Then, of course I'd go out in the rain, and it would be back to its curly self. Instead of me straightening Vicky's hair with an iron she spends hours (or at least it seems like hours) in the bathroom using some sort of hair straightening device. I keep telling her that one day she will learn to embrace the curl, but she doesn't believe me. Vicky and I also have a very similar sense of humor which makes it difficult on everyone around us. Something will remind us both of a line from The Office and, seemingly out of nowhere, we start laughing or saying, "that's what she said." Along with that sense of humor comes a sense of snarkiness that isn't the best of traits. When I hear her say something out loud that is the exact same thing I was thinking I'm never sure if I should laugh or act as if she's done something wrong.

Abby doesn't look at all like me. She even has straight hair. But even at age 10 I know that she has my predisposition to gaining weight. I keep saying that as soon as the snow and ice melt we are going to start a walking program together. In addition to helping us lose weight and getting healthier I think that the time spent together will be really great for the two of us. She suffers from middle child syndrome (aka Jan Brady syndrom) and us having our own ritual may make her feel more special. I'm hoping that children are like puppies and the bigger their feet are the taller they will be. Right now, at age 10 Abby wears an 8 1/2 shoe and she says that they are getting tight on her already. By contract Vicky and I wear 7 1/2. Geoff's is tall, as is his whole family. The shortest of his three sisters is 5'11" and I'm hoping that Abby gets his tall genes instead of my dumpy ones. Diposition wise Abby is her father's daughter so maybe height wise she will be too.

Ben is a defnite cross between Geoff and me. He has my hair (on him it looks cute) and possibly my nose (too early to tell) but Geoff's eyes and mouth. When he was a baby he had curly blond hair but it's now light brown, the same as Geoff's and Abby's. Personality wise I'm not sure whose he inherited. Geoff and I tend to be somewhat high-strung and Ben is the most laid back person you can imagine. Even when he does get upset (usually at Abby) he gets over it quickly. He's also cheerful and very helpful (also unlike either of his parents). Animals also love him and one of our cats follows him around and sleeps all curled up with him. One thing I know that he did inherit from me is my inability to carry a tune. Not only am I tone deaf but I also have no sense of rhythm. I played the viola in elementary school orchestra and played the piano for years and I still can't tell if a tone is going up or down. I must have some sort of brain defect and it's quite possible Ben has it too. I dread the day that a music teacher tells him what I was told, "Please just mouth the song - do not really sing it." I still remember how crushed I was. In the meantime Geoff is covertly working with him on singing to see if we can rewire his brain to be able to recognize notes and actually carry a tune.