Don't worry!  They are not permanent.  But notice the difference in their expressions....these two kids are as different as they can be in attitude and it comes through in their photos nearly every time.

But so are Kenna and Holly. I remember taking them when they were about the ages Kenzie and Bailey are now to have their photos made by Jim White, a master photographer back then for Blunck's Studio.

When he finished, he came out to talk to me.  "I've taken thousands of pictures of sisters," he said.  "They were both a delight to work with; but I can honestly say that I have never taken two sisters' pictures who were so totally opposite as these two are."

Speaking of tattoos, though, has it occurred to you that in forty years we will have all these little old ladies running around with tattoos and that rap music will be playing on the "golden oldies" stations.  Frightening, isn't it?

However, back to attitudes. When I start thinking of attitudes, I am reminded of something I read online the other day.  A woman said she made the mistake of saying something negative to her mother about her boyfriend.  That's a huge error.  The mother immediately jumped on it.

It's a natural "mother" reaction.  She will never forget that, and she will bring it up again; you can count on it.

Mothers automatically go into "protect" mode when they think, rightly or wrongly, that their "chick" has been treated unfairly.

I recall when Gordon and I broke up.  I was terribly sad and unhappy; but I absolutely refused to tell my mother why we had ended our relationship.  So, she went into her "mother hen" mode with the typical reaction,

"Well, to tell you the truth," she said, "I never really liked Gordon.  "For one thing"..., and she began listing the things she didn't like about him.

."Mother, please don't say bad things about Gordon.  You don't stop loving a person just because you're no longer with them.   It hurts ME to hear you say bad things about him.   But, just so you know; he didn't break up with me; I broke up with him."

(She had every right to "badmouth" him if she actually had known what he had done.)

" I just wish you'd tell me what happened," she said.  "I hate to see you so unhappy."

"Well, I'm not going to because it is between Gordon and me, and that's where it's going to stay," I said.   "So far as my being unhappy, there's not one thing you can do to change that; furthermore, I really don't want to talk about it, so please quit bringing it up."

"Oh, you'll meet someone else and forget all about Gordon," she ignorantly remarked, which only furthered my opinion that she really didn't know one thing about the depth of my emotions.

"No, Mother, I won't.   I may find a way to go on with my life; I may even marry; but I will never get over him," I replied.

But it was automatic "mother mode" to "badmouth" the other person.  I recognized it for what it was; I'm not so sure men are as perceptive about that as women are, however.

You see; we all have attitudes; but it is better not to let parents, friends nor anyone else interfere, because they really don't have the slightest idea what the true circumstances are nor how deep the feelings run. They just somehow think that speaking negatively of the other person will make their child feel better. Believe me, it doesn't; it only confuses them if they don't recognize it for what it is and put a stop to it.

If the person allows it to continue, nine times out of ten, all the mother will manage to do is really mess up her child's life.

I have always been a strong person; I make my decisions myself. No one else will EVER interfere with what I decide, and they are wasting my time and theirs even trying.

Yes, I have ATTITUDE, and only a foolish person will take me on. I'm not aggressive, though, until someone tries to bully me; then,I go into attack mode. As I told one woman who thought she could threaten and bully me.

"I've taken on people a whole lot smarter and tougher than you are and chewed them up and spit them out."