They Did Their Best

[rachelleneveu]

Day 1: Introduce yourself.
Day 2: Your parents.
Day 3: What you ate today.
Day 4: Your definition of love.
Day 5: Your day.
Day 6: A moment
Day 7: Your beliefs.
Day 8: What you wore today.
Day 9: Your siblings.
Day 10: What’s in your bag.
Day 11: Your favorite foods/drinks.
Day 12: This week.
Day 13: Your dreams.
Day 14: Your regrets.
Day 15: This month.
Day 16: Your sleeping habits.
Day 17: Something that upsets you.
Day 18: Something that makes you feel better.
Day 19: Something that makes you cry.
Day 20: A first.
Day 21: Your fears.
Day 22: Your favorite place.
Day 23: Something that you miss.
Day 24: Your aspirations.
Day 25: Your music.
Day 26: Your hobbies.
Day 27: Your mode of transportation.
Day 28: Where you live.
Day 29: Your morning routine.
Day 30: Your job and/or schooling.

Day 2: Your parents. 

Dad: Republican. Self-taught trumpet player. Had his first hangover at the age of three. Born Roman Catholic, but converted to Judaism when he married my mother. Remodels kitchens and bathrooms for a living. Volunteered for the army at 19 and did two tours in Vietnam. Raised by his grandparents for the first five years of his life. Born in Rochester, grew up all over. Met Muhammad Ali while helping at the Special Olympics. Worked for Kodak. Worked construction. Smoked a lot of weed. Lived in Italy for a year. Accidentally set my Aunt Val’s oven on fire three Thanksgivings ago. Earned degrees in art, music, and dance from Brockport, and was essentially the head of their music department for two years. Incredibly fond of word games and crossword puzzles. Watches Fox News far too often. Once owned a red Volkswagen that had no floor or workable brakes. Mad scientist in the kitchen. He’ll be 62 in December.

Mom: Democrat. Born and raised in Buffalo. Jewish. Cancer survivor. Married her first husband exactly one week before her 21st birthday. Dental hygienist. Middle child. Left-handed. Nearly blind without her glasses. Can’t figure out how to work a computer. Traveled through Europe. Daughter of a lounge singer and a painter-slash-accountant. Likes mysteries more than other kinds of fiction. The very definition of “straight arrow.” Abnormally fond of country music. Will eat just about any kind of chocolate when the mood strikes, even the tasteless, bittersweet blocks of baking chocolate. Unafraid of flying. Killer of spiders. Tends to ramble. Possesses a very strange sense of humor. Was a member of the very first graduating senior class at my former high school. She turned 59 in June.
 
My parents met on a blind date. Nine months later, I was born.