The Doodle Family

Let me introduce you to the Doodle family

 Here is Mama Doodle. She is an Elementary school teacher with an Elementary school teacher personality along with a dash of alarming bluntness. She is the type of mother who has the best advice to give her children but is not afraid to tell them the truth. For instance, she always feels the need to inform me that I am a disgusting human being for not shaving my legs often enough.

Above is Papa Doodle. He is a high school teacher with a high school teacher personality along with a handful of insanity. He lives his life like he is in a Seinfeld episode. Enough said.

Big Doodle is two years older than I am and a brilliant writer. He lacks common sense occasionally and he always keeps me laughing. He is truly the kindest person I know.

While Big Doodle is the brains of the family Little Doodle is the beauty. She is a feisty teenager with an ego bigger than the size of the state she lives in. She has been known to look at her own reflection on the back of a  spoon when putting away the dishes.

Meme and Papaw Doodle have been married for half a century. A retired doctor, Papaw Doodle was the southern breadwinner while Meme Doodle stayed at home with their four kids. He has an obsession of farming tools, welding, and random metal items that most people have never heard of. The last ranch he and Meme Doodle moved out of had so many items scattered throughout the pasture that there was more metal than grass showing. One of these items was a car carrier. Yes, you read correctly. A car carrier. He is a unique man to say the least.

Meme Doodle is a woman with the patience of a Saint. she raised four children who are all special and interesting in their own way. She had Mama Doodle, another daughter who is now a successful pharmacist, a son who is married to a beautiful woman living in the Philippines (long story), and another son who was probably the most difficult kid to raise. My favorite story Mama Doodle would tell me when I was younger about her youngest brother was the time he peed in the dishwasher. Like I mentioned before, patience of a Saint that one.

Then there is me, Snoodle Doodle Jr., a poor college student whose mouth always manages to get her into some sort of trouble.

Fortunate for me, all the Doodles are as weird as I am so I have always felt loved. Unfortunately for me, our weirdness has caused us all- mainly me- times of utter embarrassment and pure humiliation. 

I still wouldn't change a thing about them.

Until next time,

Snoodle Doodle Jr.

When They Met

I have always had the most unusual obsessions. For instance, one of the first things I notice about a person is whether or not he/she is left handed. I scout out left handers as if it were my job. I spot them at grocery stores, at the mall, at work, even in public bathrooms (don't ask).

The point is, I get driven with these random ideas that pop into my head, and my addictive/aggressive nature takes over. This only leads me to pursuing my ideas further. Ideas turn into "projects". "Projects" turn into obsession. Obsession turns into humiliation. I digest.

My most recent "project" has been learning about how different married couples first met. My new found curiosity for this unimportant subject occurred while I was on the phone with Mama Doodle down in Texas. I was complaining about my luck with men (naturally) and we got on the topic of how she and Papa Doodle met. I had remembered asking her when I was a little girl because all the other kids in second grade had parents who met on ski trips or at a nude beach somewhere in Louisanna, so I really wanted to show them up. To my despair her answer was a vauge, "In college". Thanks for the help Mama. Maybe this is why I turned out the way I did.

Anways, back to the phone convo.

Me: "You and Papa Doodle met in college right?"

Mama Doodle: "That's right honey."

Me: "How?"

Mama Doodle: "What do you mean? We just MET. There isn't much to it really."

Oh for Pete's sake. This woman can be daft. Couldn't she see I was in no mood for her in descriptive answers?

Me: "Well give me some details! Was it in class, the library, a party? Where was it? How?"

Mama Doodle: "I drew his name from a hat at his freshman orientation."

Me: "What!? Why did you fail to mention that to me? That is absolutely adorable! Just think- if you didn't draw his name then I wouldn't even exist!"

Mama Doodle: "Let's not think about that."

My mother never was the romantic type.

Me: "Did y'all fall in love at first sight? Or did he have to chase you? I bet you made him chase you huh? That's the way to do it Mama Doodle. You gotta have a man chase you down."

At this point she burst into what seems to me as uncontrollable laughter.

Mama Doodle: "I wouldn't classify it as love at first sight. And actually....I ended up chasing HIM."

Me: "Where is your dignity woman! Please tell me this is just memory loss and part of the aging process. Oh my gosh, you know what? You DID tell that cashier at Kholes your zip code of where you lived from when you were age 11 that last time I came down to visit. Maybe you are just confused."

Mama Doodle: "You know, it's really not a big deal. It doesn't matter who chases who, or how married couples met. What matters is where they end up."

Me: "Yeah, Yeah, I'm sure. Well I gotta go. Reruns of Jeopardy are on. "

Mama Doodle: "No wonder you're still single."

From this conversation on I would seize any opportunity possible to discover the different ways married couples met. One of my personal favorites is Deedle's (my ex boyfriend) grandparents. His grandmother was seventeen years old and playing the piano at a gathering at a small town's Baptist church in Oklahoma. His grandfather was in the army and staying at a base nearby at the time. He and a group of army friends were given a special short service at the church followed by a nice homemade lunch. When he first walked through the church doors he spotted a beautiful girl at a piano surrounded by a group of kids around her age.

Her eyes were shut, mouth open with a slight smile on her lips, and an angelic voice was coming from a breathtaking face as she played effortlessly on the keys. The people in the crowd were captivated and they too couldn't take their eyes away. He immediately asked the young woman next to him who this mysterious girl at the piano was.

"Oh that's Fredericka," the girl said. "She's the most talented girl the town has ever seen. She's supposed to be going to Julliard next fall."

He stared at Fredericka for a moment longer and turned back to the girl next to him.

"That's the girl I am going to marry," he said.

Sure enough, the two eloped a few weeks later. She was disowned by her wealthy parents and never attended Julliard. To most it seemed like a mistake but the young couple was deeply in love. They eventually had four kids -each one brilliant and talented.

I think about this story a lot and it gives me hope that maybe one day I will eventually find someone who loves me as much as Deedle's grandparents loved one another. Who knows? I could one day have my own  heartwarming story to tell my grandchildren.

In the meantime, I have another date with Alex Trebek.

Until next time,

Snoodle Doodle Jr.