Insight Into JayCee’s ‘Other’ Family

You know the saying "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family", right?  Well, to give you some insight into my "other" family: I'd pick them!

Look at the picture above.  That picture features two doctors, a nurse, three educators, a military contractor, a casino marketing director, honor roll students and one radio announcer (ahem).  Perfect (large) family, right?  Well, each family has that one, or two, who are just not "plumb"; this family blows that average out of the water!

I come from a large family (I have 7 siblings so, with Mom and Dad, we were 10), so when Shannon and I started dating, I thought that it was cool she came from large family as well (6 siblings).

When I first met her family (the Redmonds), everything seemed fairly large-family normal: chaos at family events, slight bickering at the most stupid things, fierce protection of one another when an outsider is involved, etc.

It wasn't until the end of the first large family gathering I attended when I truly discovered what I had gotten myself into, as shown in their family photos.  They do this for every gathering, from Christmas to Thanksgiving to the annual beach trip; every gathering.

The first "family" photo from each event is perfect, and only taken so that Bette, the matriarch, can have something for her family album.  The second photo, though, is the real photo.

Take, for instance, last month's gathering for the wedding of Emily, one of the granddaughters.  After the above photo was taken, the photographer said "okay, that's it".  The Redmond family said "Oh, wait:  we have to take one more!!".  The photographer started to say that she had gotten "the shot", and we were dismissed, when the father of the bride said that we needed just one more shot.  Here it is:

That picture right there is what epitomizes the Redmond Family.  You can dress them up, but don't expect them to be normal (and I wouldn't have them any other way)!

I'm a lucky guy to be accepted by this big group of abnormal.

(Facebook/Emily Eber)