Kulani took this picture of me and the girls today before church. He saw us all dressed up in spring colors, and he wanted to take a picture of us in front of the few daffodils I planted last fall, which are now blooming. I love this picture. Poor Kulani--he's surrounded by girls, and he's a guy who's not accustomed to being around a lot of girls. He didn't have a bunch of sisters; just the one, and she's much older than him. But he's a great sport. Recently, Lilia has started wanting privacy while dressing, and she closes her eyes if she sees me dressing. It reminded me of my mom and grandma. My family isn't exactly shy about being half nude around each other. Well, actually it's my mom's side that isn't shy about nudity. Don't get me wrong; around others we don't even expose our midriffs, but with family, we let it all hang out. Let me provide the following humorous examples.
When I was about 9 my mom took me and my two youngest siblings to visit Grandma McEuen in California. We went to the beach one day, and all of us got sunburned. I was sleeping on Grandma McEuen's living room floor later that night when I awoke to see my grandma completely nude from the bellybutton up. My mom was applying aloe vera to her shoulders. No attempt at covering up was made when they saw I was awake. Then my mom bared her chest, and Grandma applied aloe vera to her shoulders. It was no twisted dream; it was life-scarring real life.
My mom never bothered to put on a robe when she exited her bathroom, so it was natural for us to see her nude growing up. We never saw my dad nude past maybe age 2 or 3 (when mom would plop us in the shower with him to save water and time; I have a few memories of me, B.J., and Dad showering together). But mom: common place. Kulani, on the other hand, never saw his mom even in her underwear. So Kulani was on his first visit to my home in Idaho while we were dating. He awoke on Sunday morning to shower and get ready for church. He was shocked to see my mom ironing her dress in nothing but her underwear. He was very embarrassed, but my mother thought nothing of it. Later he told me about how different that was from how he grew up. Thankfully he still wanted to marry me, and I hoped he'd shake the image of seeing my mom in her underwear before we got married.
But now that Nohea is getting older and is so fun, we're thinking maybe we'll try one more time for that boy. (No, we are not pregnant, so please don't ask.) And if it turns out to be another girl, all the merrier. Hopefully the girls will marry nice guys like their dad, then maybe Kulani will have some sympathy around here.
7 comments:
You know, Brad would always say, "three strikes and your out." That was until the fourth came...a boy. Home run!
Angela
That is hilarious!! It is definately the McEuen side because my mother was very modest with everything. I do believe that I have seen your mother in her undies a time or two.
Things are so different when you have your own kids. I keep thinking that Lucas is getting to the age where I should cover myself up a little more. I bet it is a little different having all girls.
Cindy, this McEuen habit didn't pass down to the Christenson girls. I don't think I've ever seen any of my sisters naked. I think I've seen Kathy in her g's but that's it. I remember when we shared a room together, you would make me turn around when you changed your clothes. And when Hetty and I become roommates, I made her do the same.
But, I'm just like Mom with Minnie. Hans is more like Dad, always has pajama bottoms on. I run from the shower to the bedroom all the time, just like Mom.
Mary, dat be true. Even though I lived in the same room as various of my sisters at different times, I was never comfortable letting ya'all see me naked. I guess there's just something about being a mother that makes it seem okay to be naked (at least from the top half) around your kids. Kent from work says there were times when he even wanted to see his mom naked. I said to him, "Uh, yeah, there's a reason you're in your 50s and have never been married." Zing!
The McEuens are crazy about nudity -- I swear they love it. When I was leaving my mission, Mom, Aunt Kathy and Grandma all came to Sweden to get me (right after Grandpa died). I think their favorite part of the trip was when we went to a park in Oslo, Norway where there were hundreds of naked statues intertwined with each other. (Here's a link to a site that talks about it: http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/europe/vigeland.shtml). They loved that place! They took picture after picture and tried to reinact some of the poses. Then to top it off, we were on an overnight cruise ship between Sweden and Norway and the ladies seemed to race for the sauna where all the ladies sat in the nude enjoying the heat. I went with them and it was weird! They fit right in with the rest of the Swedes and Nords and the love of nudity. Maybe that's where they get it, from their Swedish ancestry. I'll tell you, those Swedes were much more open about things like that.
You have me absolutely cracking up!
Good luck catching a little boy :).
And your family is absolutely adorable.
Cindy -- come on -- post something new! I need more!
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