Meet My Family: Dad & His Clan

First let me introduce "The Clan" (from left to right): Me, Chase, my Dad, Robert, Amanda, Mimi, Alicia, Josh, and Rhonda. Just about a year ago, my father married Rhonda and subsequently inherited 4 young adults: Chase, Amanda, Mimi, and Alicia. Since I lived in San Diego and now Japan I haven't had a chance to meet Rhonda's children. Since I had a bit of time this visit, I got to spend a nice evening getting to know them. They actually threw me a belated birthday dinner with my choice of food (of course I picked steak; since I don't get to eat much here). I really didn't know what to expect when I went to their house. I knew that the kids were older (high school and college) which made me think that they may not really be interested in a pseudo relative that lives around the world (we all remember how we acted as teenagers). I expected polite general conversation. I must say how happy and pleased I was as the evening progressed. Rhonda's kids are very bright, enthusiastic, and were really curious about me (didn't sense any polite schmoozing). They are funny and all very different. Amanda is on scholarship and attending OU. Alicia is a senior and just got offered a huge scholarship to play softball. Mimi (sporting her new smile minus the braces) and Chase (who needs to save for a car) are typically high school kids. Actually Mimi (whose real name is Michael; same as my Dad) has a pen pal here in Japan. Anyway I really felt like I was surrounded by a happy family and it was nice to be apart of it for the evening. I hope that the next time I'm in town that I will be able to spend more time with "The Clan".