Friday, September 08, 2006

Happy Birthday Karin!

e Today is Karin's 26th birthday and in her honor I thought I would share some thoughts on her existence.

Karin was born about three weeks after we met her family. Karin is a buckeye, meaning she was born in Ohio. She was born at O'Bleness Hospital in Athens Ohio three weeks after Emily Y. was born there. Her family lived in a small two-bedroom apartment called Carriage Hill while her dad was going to graduate school at Ohio University and her mother was managing monkeys (ours and theirs). My fuzzy memory suggests that she may have been jaundiced, but recovered with no problems (I was four, so I could be misremembering). Karin was the last redhead to be born in the Stewart/Yeagley conglomerate and we were glad to have her.

Later on, her family moved to a tiny one-bedroom house with an enormous bathroom and yard, where our mothers shared monkey management by swapping monkeys every other day. On one such occasion, Jill (born after Karin) decided to try the daredevil stunt of drowning head first in our yucky avocado green toilet. Karin's heroism saved Jill because she bravely pulled on her legs with all her might and screamed at the top of her lungs for help. We still think of Karin as a hero and perhaps we should make her a cape suggesting so.

Karin has grown up to be Hollywood legend, Nicole Kidman, and has assumed a career in monkey management like her redheaded mother before her. As far as I know her monkeys have not tried to drown, but I suspect if they saw someone else trying to commit swirly suicide, they would assume the position and become heroes themselves.

Happy 26th Birthday Karin!

Your redheaded co-monkey,
Ali

Stewart/Yeagley Conversion Chart
(for persons new to the system):
Elizabeth = Ali
Ann = Jake
Emily = Karen
Karin = Emily
April
Jill = Anita
Mike
Katie
Matt

7 comments:

Ann said...

Fuzzy memory?! Who are you kidding?! I don't remember half of that stuff! I vaguely remember our little house and your house. I have nothing on Carriage Hill.

HAPPY B-DAY KARIN!

Anonymous said...

Well let me help you to jog your memory (although, in all fairness, we went back later to get sat by student wives). There was a steep hill that you had to drive up somewhere near the McDonald's and all the buildings were brick. The playgrounds were tiny, but they had spring loaded animals to bounce and sway on. I remember watching Sesame Street on Sunday mornings at your house and thinking how cool it was because our mom would only let us watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (in those days she had way more control over us).

Also, your parents would let Karin roll about in her birthday suit as an infant to enjoy the breeze and they would powder her caboose for the event. She loved it (as most babies do). And since at that point your parents had no boys, Karin was free to be what ever she pleased. I also remember thinking that it made perfect since to roll around in your birthday suit as a infant, but it was yet another thing my parents never did. Strange and fuzzy memories continue to emerge.

Unknown said...

Amazing. I think you know my sister better than I do! I didn't know where she was born or that inspiring toilet story.

I've got one you might not know about: Karin used to pass out. The first time was when she was making a left turn in her friend's car. Another time she fell into the pool because she fainted while she was vacuuming it. One night she was trying to go to bed and Jill found her on the floor, her head landed miraculously an inch from the door and an inch from the footboard. And she wasn't wearing any pants and had no recollection of removing them. Maybe we _should_ only share hero stories.

karin said...

Thanks to all for reliving memories of Karin.
Emily, you have the order of pass outs completely wrong. First time was in 6th grade science class and we disregarded it blaming it on lack of breakfast that morning (mom was out of town). Next was cleaning the pool, Mom saved me then. Then the car and then Jill found me. After the car accident, I (as a 17yo) lost my driver's license for SIX MONTHS!

Anonymous said...

Don't feel bad Karin, I am also a fainter. I had a doctor tell me that redheads are more prone to passing out, nose bleeds, and eye-sensitivity to the sun. Go figure. I had problems with all of that. Karen had trouble with nose bleeds.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, and if you haven't been diagnosed for the fainting, look into Vaso Vagal Syncope. I got diagnosed by passing out in the cardiology unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston by one of the country's leading cardiologist (who was not my doctor at all, I was visiting another patient).

karin said...

I haven't passed out for a while but I did MULTIPLE tests with MULTIPLE specialists and they found nothing. I do get light-headed still. If I pass out again I will know to go for info.