Monday, July 11, 2005

Family resemblances

A friend of mine sent pictures of her little boy's first birthday party. I don't know why it is, but I have always been fascinated with looking at family resemblances, and I will study faces to see who looks like who -- doesn't matter whose family it is . It seems harder to tell when a child is young, and you think they look like one parent until they get older and suddenly resemble the other! Maybe I like to wonder what my own children will look like, and before I knew who I was marrying that was obviously a bit harder to imagine. But I look at mine and Casey's baby photos and think, "If we are blessed with children, who will they look like?" And you just never know. For example, my three siblings and I don't seem (in my mind, anyway) to strongly resemble either of our parents. I think we have decided that one brother looks like my mom's side of the family, while the other three of us look like my dad's side. My sister and I have come to look more alike as I got into my later 20's, but my brother and I looked more alike when we were younger. Now Casey, on the other hand, looks so much like his father that people have approached his dad and asked, "Are you Casey's dad?" It's like I'm looking 30 years into the future when I see my father-in-law. This is somewhat of a debate though, because my mother-in-law says that Casey looks more like her -- and I can see some resemblances -- but if you had to pick this father and son out in a room full of people, I would guess you'd only take a few seconds. What I may find even more fascinating are the mannerisms that are similar in families. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to my own, so I was surprised to learn from Casey that everyone in my family stands up to tell a story...and this is usually at the dinner table. I have noticed one of my brothers using lots of the same mannerisms and expressions as my dad, and I have heard myself sounding just like my mom at times. The first time I met Casey's parents, we went out to eat and Casey and his dad sat across from each other and were both sitting forward with their hands positioned the same way. Why does this fascinate me so?

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Because you think of the oddest, coolest things, that's why. :)

For some reason, the fact that everyone in your family stands up to tell a story, just really hit my funny bone. :)

I will tell you that I can NOT tell who my own kids look like. Not sure if that's a parental phenomenon or if its just me. I ask almost anyone who shows an interest in them. I also usually ask if they think my kids look more chinese or white.

So what do you think?

tracey said...

Not surprisingly, Sarah, I have tried to see the resemblances in the pictures of your kids, and you know what? I can't tell who they look like either! I thought you would have had that pinned down, but I guess parents get stuck on it as well. Biracial children always seem to me to be the most beautiful mixture of their mom and dad...again, fascinating!

tracey said...

Oh, sorry...you had asked a question, if your kids looked more chinese or white but I don't think they look like either! Just two darling boys and a beautiful girl. =)

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