I decided to start this thread here because it's related to family and relationships. I woke up this morning kind of sad because I have not attended the flea market even on opening day. I don't know even if it is open because the Stay at Home order was in effect before then. I was thinking about the vendors that I became acquainted with and how this must be affecting them. Any way moving along. One time as I was making my treasure seeking rounds I was passing by one vendor who called out to me waving her hand as she spoke and asked "Are you one of the Kelly girls?' I thought about my mother who is a "Kelly" and answered, yes. She said, 'I thought so, the Kellys just have that look that you can tell one of them.' That started me wondering how much our family resembles each other that someone could point it out. With that thought I began thinking about celebrities like the Baldwin boys, the Douglas', the Sutherlands and HGTV's Drew and Jonathan Scott of the Property Brothers and how strong their family resemblance is. I'm was tickled that she was able to pick that up with me being a third generation child of a Kelly. The four Kelly girls were like an overcrowded pea pod and were very close even after entering their adult years. I use to watch them as they played cards. I'm smiling right now remembering those ladies is the peak of my day.
I don't look like any member of my family, although my guardian father (high school years) and I did share some farming interests that I've held onto still.
My sisters and I look like we were brought by different milkmen. No resemblance at all. Every possible eye- and hair-color combination and build..... My former brother-in-law, though, had seven brothers and sisters who looked they were stamped out with the same cookie cutters, which was unfortunate for the girls. My late husband was one of 11 children and there wasn't much resemblance there, either. It's funny how strong the genes are in some families and weak in others. Our only child, a daughter, popped out as a green-eyed blonde from two brown-eyed, brown-haired parents. We always laughed that even though we knew WHO her parents were, we didn't know WHERE she came from. Then one day, I looked at her bare feet next to her father's bare feet and they had the identical feet. The same crooked toe on their right feet, the same abnormally high arch on the top of the foot, the same odd toenails. People say things like, "Oh, he has his father's nose" or "Well, he inherited the Johnson hairline" or "HIs chin is EXACTLY like his father's", but we don't remember that the appearance of hands and feet can also be inherited.
My baby brother and I look quite a bit alike. We were even born on the same day of the week. There, any resemblance at all ends. My other brother and sister did not look alike nor like one another. Actually, the 2 boys and I are a cross between mom and day, while my sister is the image of my paternal grandmother. While predominately, Irish, there is a strong Nordic look to the family, but some Irish all look alike. The Kennedys come to mind.
I've been asked by strangers, "Aren't you a ........ ?" my maiden name. I don't see a strong resemblance among all of us but there are similarities. Enough so that a stranger can see it.
We have a strong family resemblance even across generations. While we are not each others dopplegangers, there is no mistaking we are a family. My brother is an identical twin to the Civil War ancestor I posted. Only difference is my brothers gaunt emaciated countenance is a result of alcohol and drug abuse, not the deprivations of war.
A telephone repairman working on my box outside said I looked like a guy he knew in his home town who happened to be my cousin. His father was my father's brother. I once heard someone sitting behind me at church who whispered to whomever they were with that I looked like my father.
I've been stunned a couple of times by 'throwback' resemblances - as with my nephew, couldn't see a resemblance of his Mother and Father in him. Then one day I noticed a photo of a man in uniform as I got nearer I was truly stunned to see my nephew ! 'Who is the man in the photo ?' says I - the answer was my nephew's Grandfather
A funny thing happened to me at my brother's funeral a decade ago. A young man walked up to me and said hi. I asked who he was and my wife jabbed me in the ribs and said it's your son Mark. It's funny because at that time he was a thin me who I hadn't seen for about 10 years. I've also noticed that the older I get the more I resemble my father. In fact when I went to my step mom's funeral, her natural kids said OMG Al's come back to life.
Picture of my great grand father and grandfather. I am the one in blue,my father is taking the picture