Let your Freak Flag fly

Every family has one. You know, the “crazy” relative. The one who is just a little offbeat. Maybe she has an alter ego. Maybe she uses her hand as a wind-up toy. Or perhaps she’s the president of a group who refer to themselves as “The Blockheads” for one reason or another. Sometimes this relative will give preferential treatment to cats. They march to a different drum and they’re often unpredictable.

Thanksgiving and Christmas bring a season when crazy relatives come out of hibernation and you can see them in their natural state. Some of you out there dread this time of year. Not only do I welcome it, I thoroughly enjoy it.

Yes. I, too, have a “crazy” relative. She’s creative and fun. Quirky and energized. She’s my Aunt Arlene. If I kept documentation of all the things I learned from this woman throughout my life, I’d need a file cabinet the size of Texas.

There are certain people in the family parents hope to God their kids don’t learn from, but I’m pretty sure I was mimicking my Aunt Arlene as soon as I met her. At an early age, my parents knew there was no avoiding it. I might as well have been a SPONGE absorbing her every move, thought and word.

To this day, Aunt Arlene is always teaching me something new: a money saving trick here, a recipe there. I never thought a woman twice my age would be giving me exercise advice, but sure enough, there was my Aunt Arlene on Thanksgiving day sprawled on the carpet teaching me how to do an abdominal crunch…the right way. Right along side her was my grandmother teaching me how to get a better butt…I won’t go into detail what those exercises entail. Let's just say it will be a good story to tell my future children.

This holiday season, many a crazy relative will surface. Try to embrace it and learn from the unique individuals who came by this honored title. You think it’s easy getting to be known as the “crazy” one. No. That takes hours of hard work: numerous peculiar facial expressions, several occurrences of spontaneous behavior and a lot of showing off your unusual every-day habits.

Every family has a nut case, and if you don’t think yours does, then it’s probably you! If you’re like me and aspire to be the “crazy” relative some day, here are a few tips I came up with to help you get there.

Pick your favorite color. And really stick with it. Dress monochromatically, if your wardrobe allows. This is a sure-fire way to stand out at family gatherings. This way, none of your crazy habits or behavior will go unnoticed. If you saw a woman dressed head to toe in violet purple doing the jitterbug, wouldn’t you look?

Start a collection. There’s really nothing like having a fanatical collection of inanimate objects to make your family think you’ve gone ape-shit. If done properly, family members will know right away from stepping into your home whatever it is you collect. Your collections should be displayed like trophies from floor to ceiling. You might already have a nice collection of coins, but to take that extra step towards “unique and slightly deranged” you’ll need to collect something a little more surprising. My mother is well on her way with ceramic roosters and chickens, for example.

Find your obscure talent. On your path to becoming “crazy”, you’ll need to be able to SHOCK AND AWE anyone you come into contact with at the drop of a hat. This could also be a great thing to use as a party trick, especially at family reunions and family gatherings around the holidays.

Adopt a nickname. And own it. Your family will always wonder where it came from. Maybe you call yourself…Shamrock. Let them ponder that over Christmas.

Very important. Be sure to sprinkle in a wild love affair every now and then………you know, for story telling purposes.

Let your Freak Flag fly,

Bridget Marie