What it means to be a Pinkson

My sister, cousins and I often talk about how wonderful it is to be a Pinkson.  We had a great matriarch to lead our family, and both of my grandparents and their parents, my aunts and uncles, and my parents have all raised us to work hard, have a strong sense of social justice, and care for others.  We constantly look back at our family get togethers with pride from where we come from and how we were raised.

But.

and this is a big but (but in no way makes us any less proud, in fact it makes me even more proud)...

There are some things that can only be said if you are a Pinkson.  You know how every family thinks their family is a little weird?  

I guarantee us Pinkson's have you beat.

"Can I go play in that giant teepee in your aunt's back yard?"

"No, someone actually lives there."

"Remember that time we put your grandparents in the hospital from too many pot brownies?"

"Just step over all of the animal parts scattered around the yard."

"Mom!  You have far worse drug stories than we do!"

"Yes, that's my cousin in 'Gettin' Jiggy With It."

"What kind of stew is this?"

"Squirrel, why?"

"NO, YOU CAN'T GO SHOPPING ON BLACK FRIDAY, IT IS NATIONAL 'BUY NOTHING DAY!!!!"

"Do you want to see the worms composting food in our basement?"

"You are 4 years old; it is time you know what sexual intercourse is."

"Your popop was accused of being a Communist by McCarthy."

"But wasn't he?"

"We brought some weed lollipops to your wedding.  Do you want one?"

"What are you doing this weekend?"

"Brain tanning!"

"Lets go around the table and tell our worst drug stories!"

"My parents have an APB out for their missing goat."

I can honestly say that even though my last name is now Goodwin, that being a Pinkson is a point of pride for me.  Our family raised us well.  We may seem a little goofy to the rest of you (but you sound a little boring to me), but I would not have it any other way.

What are some strange things about your family?

Cheers!

Nice to Meet You, I'm Clark Griswald

As a kid, I always used to beg my parents to put an addition on the house so we could have a tall tree at Christmas like that from the Nutcracker.

For obvious reasons they declined to turn my request into a reality.

But imagine my delight when the house we purchased late this summer had cathedral ceilings in it!  I could have the tall Christmas tree of my fantasies at last!

Except the tree farm we generally go to specializes in FAT trees, not TALL trees.  And since the Goodwin's are low on time and resources, we purchased our tree from this farm, rather than drive to another farm to find a taller one.  So instead we picked out the biggest, fattest, tallest tree on the 3 acre farm.

We should have known we were in trouble when it took 3 grown men to get it into the back of the truck.

Last night we MacGyvered Griswalded the tree into the house.

No joke, we took the front door off it's hinges, used rope and tie straps to tie the tree down so we could fit it through the door, we pushed, we pulled, and an hour and a half later we finally got the tree into the house.

The tree was SO big that even all tied up it was STILL bigger than any tree I have ever had.

We slowly released the ropes and POOF, we had an 11 foot tall tree that was matched in height only by it's 8 foot girth.  

Let's just say our living room no longer echoes from being too empty!

Now let's all pray for snow, because it is a bit depressing to feel all Christmas-y without the white stuff.