Do you ever do something so much with your family or friends that you donโt even realize that
itโs odd until you say or do that thing in the real world?

In the Alger home, watching television is not for the weak. Any horrendous/hideous/grotesque
monster or person that shows up on the screen can and will be compared to you. Actually, this
can be done at any time. A real example:
Yes. That is my brother calling me a hideous monster.

It keeps us humble, maybe.
Another thing weโd often do, are these little pranks where weโd pretend weโre all dead when
someone gets home. Or that weโre all frozen in time. Once we laid clothes around as if a
rapture happened.
This went wrong when a close friend and I (the close friend is basically family, so she is in tune
to our ways), played this dead prank on her husband. He did not find it hilarious. How strange.

So again, itโs safe to say that weโre kind of turds. Now, we come to rock climbing. Never have I
seen a more supportive community. People are high fiving, telling each other they rock, theyโre
awesome, etc., etc.
Thenโฆthereโs my sister and I:

You see we grew up ragging each other. This is how it always was and how it always will be. But
people of such a positive environment may not quite understand thisโฆuhโฆritual.

Now, our trash talk has never come down to lack of support. I remember when I fiiiiirst started
climbing and completed a simple V1, my sister ran up to me and started dancing and โWOOโ-
ing around the boulder mat, much to the confusion of all the climbers.
But, that same day, she told me I couldnโt even get an ugly Hemsworth brother to look my way
(this really tarnished my Australian getaway plans). So really, itโs all quite balanced.

This has really turned into a PSA: if you happen to overhear me telling my little sister that she
โcould probably climb better if the actual wall wasnโt so horrified by her ugly faceโ, then just
smile and nod and walk the other way. Weโre doing all right.


Insane ๐ฉ omg ๐ณ May my daughter would be so blessed to meet yโall! I am not ya type Jajaja
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I love the confidence that that breeds. NOt assertiveness. Not dominance. Confidence. Strong enough to be gentle, and gentle enough to get the slow blade… there you go… IN. OUCH! HEY! Laughing, Gotcha. It reminds me most of what preschool and upbringing must have been like for the โTrees with strong roots laugh at storms. ~ Malay Proverbโ… where the torrential and raging (though weather doesnโt need emotion) and blasting storm comes in (Read in someone angry and blustering and shaming an ALL that and a bag of chips) and the tree with strong roots stands, calm, at most a mirror for the weather to wash right through for a free, power-wash level shower from the storm. And, the stormY person tires when not engaged, and subsides… at which point the tree finally moves from its Empathic Silence to reach to the fallen storm, โSo, can you pull yourself back together after that gig? Is there a message for me in all that?โ Feels like your prankster ways and ragging and drawing out troubles really served to draw OFF the marble of Self like Michelangelo did for David… to keep his innate Self in a process of being revealed… to him.
Great laughs and snorts and chuckles, and a little coffee had to be wiped off the screen and off my lip coming out of my nose at โnot even an ugly Hemsworth?โ This was a SaWEET way to dial into the unknown 5.XXc of the day. Thanks much. How ya doing with those T-Rex arms? THATโs what caused my coffee to run to my screen to save it from not having been cleaned for a couple of days. ๐
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I don;t waste trouble, so a dirty screen? Well, you certainly fixed that now, didnโtcha? ๐
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Hey we all have those types of family dynamics. Itโs fun and games time till itโs not. I feel that if it begins to hinder with your mental health , itโs time to speak up. I mean we are in a traumatic worldwide pandemic . The human mind is a mystery of its own. It reacts without warning, Add more trauma to unresolved trauma and in a snap youโre on a episode of โsnapped.โ Mutual respect is a lost art. Speak up when it bothers you and stand up for yourself. Iโd rather have your loved ones be mindfully well than a story on the 6 o clock news. Just as long as everyone understands boundaries. limits, and triggers,I feel everything should be fine
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Ya have a great day!
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My brothers (10 and 12 years older than I) used to try to get me to play Spaceman. They would hand me a plastic bag for a space helmet. Alas, the brother in between us did agree to play…once. Hence the 10 year gap.
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Thanks for the smiles on a day I needed some.
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In our family if we donโt pick on you, we donโt like you. Seriously, if WEโRE on our best behavior, you have a problem.
I completely understand this sort of behavior and do not find it odd at all.
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Family and friends with a like sense of humor is wonderful medicine!
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๐ I am an only child, but watching my daughters grow up has been a learning experience. They’re exactly as you describe!
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Thanks for the like. (On my blog sourgirlsells.wordpress.com) you have a really cool blog. Are those sketches/drawings ones you have done yourself? If so, nice job! Very cool personal touch that made your post stand out to me. trash talk is a great topic too… You should check out my “real” blog at voteJustine.com it’s similar to my WordPress blog but it’s hosted on a domain I own. If you ever want to do a guest post I have a few blogs I write for that would love to hear what you have to say. I’ve found readers enjoy different perspectives and I think you have a really unique voice. Keep up the good work!
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Oh nice Justine…we’ll make sure to check out your site, and brainstorm some potential contribution ideas!
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I loved this post ! I really appreciate those sketches , really adds a personal touch :))
Keep up the good work !
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Thanks for the laughs, they were needed, and yes I know what you are talking about with families
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Thanks for liking my post and thanks for the insight into family life. I think we may be a little too thin-skinned here for that, but my sister and I used to say things like that to each other. Now we live in different states!!! ๐คญ
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This is a really cool blog post! I love it! ๐
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