"Honey, I knew you was gonna be trouble the moment you walked in and told us your veins rolled.""But they do."

"Mmm-hmm. You were right about that."

* * * * *

I've been out of the habit of giving blood lately. I was a regular back in college, but the life changes involved in graduating, getting married, and moving to a new state upset a lot of my habits, giving blood among them. Not a real excuse, but it happened.

While we were at the hospital, Mom asked me why I volunteered to turn my days and nights around so that I could stay up with Dad during the night. It was hard to explain why, exactly, but it had something to do with contrary nature and my need for solitude. When I tried to explain this to Mom, I think it all came out wrong, but I eventually managed to maneuver my words into the direction they needed to go: "It's not that I don't want to see the friends and family that come to see Dad during the day. It's that I just do better when it's just Dad and me."

Her "I don't understand but I'll take that weird answer and run with it" shrug told me all I needed to know. I've never claimed to be anything but the oddball of the family. Not a black sheep, but perhaps a grey sheep. Or a paisley sheep. Not rebellious; just different.