you're a Becker, aren't you?

Like all families, my family has many little inside jokes. One of our jokes is that I am adopted. I'm not exactly sure how this joke started, no doubt it started when we were all sitting around playing cards and ripping on each other. I probably said something like "I can't believe I am related to you." And my brother replied, "Don't worry, you're not." It probably would have just ended there but then my mom got into it and made some joke about me being adopted and so of course it has become a running gag. 

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being adopted, but the reason why we find the joke so funny is that I am the spitting image of my mother. Apparently I have the exact same face that she had when she was my age. Unfortunately she was skinnier with much narrower shoulders so I can't fit into any of her awesome 60s dresses.

I also look a lot like my siblings. A LOT like my siblings. Growing up we often called my sister Chris my "thirteen year older twin." Back when I was growing up and my siblings were still in town, I would have people on the street come up to me and say, "You're a Becker, aren't you?" That's right, people I had never met or seen before would recognize me simply from my facial structure. Isn't genetics amazing?

It's been awhile since that has happened. But last night at Target I was trying to find a certain kind of pretzel when I heard a voice behind me pipe up, "Are you guys Beckers?" It was my brother's best friend from childhood. 

It just goes to show that no matter how much I think I have grown and changed, I am still a Becker through and through.