Sunday Sip

Unraveling the Treads of Our Past and Present

I’m glad you are back! It's time to pour a cup of your favorite beverage and settle into today's edition of Sunday Sip. We're delving into a topic that touches each of us uniquely – the influence of birth order. 

The Intriguing Puzzle of Birth Order

“Where are you in the birth order,” my new boss asked me in 1997. I thought it odd at the time. But as the years churned by, I was asked many odd questions while working for a psychoanalyst at the Institute for Human Adjustment. If you are scratching your head wondering what a psychoanalyst is, it is not a psycho but a person who practices psychoanalysis, which is a type of treatment based on the theory that our past shapes our present. 

You really should be wondering what in the world the Institute for Human Adjustment was. I’ll let you ponder that. 

My boss had a set of Sigmund Freud’s work on his shelf. He liked fountain pens and always spent an inordinate amount of time filling them during our meetings. Sometimes, he spilled ink on his desk and then had to clean it up while I watched patiently. Working for him definitely “shaped” my present. He often interrupted me and said, “Just hum a few bars.” I guess he wanted me to get to the point, which in this case is birth order.  

My sister doesn’t think it makes any difference. She is not the youngest of 6 kids, so I can see why she has that point of view. Since I’m the youngest of 6, my viewpoint is different. If you do a Google search, many current articles would agree with my sister. But Sigmund Freud said, "A child's position in the sequence of brothers and sisters is of very great significance for one course of his later life."  I’m inclined to agree with Sigmund. 

In the book “What An Owl Knows” by Jennifer Ackerman, she mentioned that sometimes the youngest owlet will be kicked out of the nest if resources are scarce. This resonates. There were times growing up I was pretty sure my brother was trying to kick me out of the nest. Like when I was maybe 8 or 9, he got me to stand on his shoulders while he dove off the diving board into a pond. My head scraped the bottom. Or when he took me snowmobiling, we ran out of gas miles from the house, and he left me sitting on the snowmobile in the woods, near dusk, to wait for him. I was maybe 5, and I was terrified. 

Was he trying to knock me out of the nest? Probably not intentionally, but looking back, I’ve got to wonder where our parents were. 

In retrospect, having a psychoanalyst for a boss was more than I bargained for, most notably the layers of self-awareness and resilience he gave me. While my brother's antics may not have been a calculated effort to displace me, they inadvertently sculpted a part of who I am. In the shadow of my siblings, I learned to navigate, adapt, and, perhaps most importantly, reflect.

Jennifer Ackerman’s "What An Owl Knows" is a poignant reminder of the natural world's parallels to our human experiences. The youngest owlet, vulnerable yet determined, mirrors my journey as the youngest of six, also shaping my resilience and perspective.

So, as I ponder the question of birth order, I find it's not just about the position we hold in the family line. It's about the unique lens through which we view our past, interpret our present, and envision our future. Freud may have been onto something after all. As for the Institute for Human Adjustment, perhaps the greatest lesson lies in its name: life is a continuous process of adjusting, understanding, and growing – no matter where we fall in the birth order.

What do you think? Does birth order matter?

They’ve Accepted US 

Exciting news about our membership with the Michigan Press Association, they approved our membership application. We are officially members of the press. 

Why did we even apply?  

• They have a legal hotline, not that we’ve ever needed one, but it's there. 

• The contests might be fun and better than calling the legal hotline. 

• Online webinars and an annual conference might be useful. 

• Plus, we can add to our email footers – and be fancy! 

If I’m totally honest, it is another step towards applying for membership to the Midwest Travel Journalists Association (MTJA). Yes, I’m padding my resume just a tad. And when sending a pitch to a new editor or applying for things like the lighthouse keeper gigs, we can mention – it's street cred. 

Lighthouse Keeper Gigs  

If you missed it, we were Volunteer Lighthouse keepers at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse in Northport last year.  If you’ve not read the recap, here is a taste:

Breaker, breaker, we have a situation here,” came the voice over the walkie-talkie. It was our third day as lighthouse keepers at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, and we were facing another crisis: the top step on the admissions office porch had broken. Who knew lighthouse keeping involved so much DIY? But let’s backtrack to how we ended up in this situation.

We are returning to Grand Traverse in June 2024 and snagged a gig at Point aux Barques Lighthouse Assistants in July. 

If you want a different experience, check out the Michigan Lighthouse Guide, which lists the volunteer programs. 

Upcoming Events You Won't Want to Miss

Hey, if you’ve got something you’d like us to list, let us know. If it fits within our wheelhouse, as they say, we’ll try to list it.

Holiday Martini Class: Friday, December 22, 2023 at 6:30 pm

Learn how to make 2-holiday martinis with River Raisin Distillery products. Krista Jarvis, one of the owners of RRD, will teach you step-by-step how to make each martini. Your ticket includes everything to make the cocktails & a take-home cocktail-making kit! *attendees MUST be 21+*

Brewday with Stiggs Brewery & Kitchen and Life In Michigan, January 13, 2024 at 12 pm

Join us for the third annual Stiggs and Life In Michigan Brew Day at Stiggs Brewery and Kitchen! We'll be brewing outside the latest version of Camping With Uncle Charlie Stout.

Join us along with the Stiggs Brew Crew for a fun afternoon celebrating great beers and community. 

This is also the 7th anniversary of Stiggs Brewery & Kitchen, so there will be plenty to celebrate.

If that isn't enough, the Fat and Flurrious fat tire bike race will be finishing up at Stiggs! Dress warm, and we'll see you on Saturday, January 13th, at Stiggs Brewery and Kitchen in Boyne City.

Save the DATE! January 21-26, 2024, is Ann Arbor’s Restaurant Week! 

We are teaming up with Behind the Mitten to help generate excitement for the event. We are excited to join Amy Sherman and John Gonzalez while they record a show in Ann Arbor featuring a few restaurants participating in Restaurant Week. 

Culinary Corner

For years, I made my sister Kris’s Buckeye Christmas cookies. They are a favorite among friends and family. I tucked away the recipe neatly somewhere, but I’ll be damned if I could find it. My other sister (yes, I’ve got a bunch) still had her ragged copy in Kris’s handwriting. It was a bit tattered, so I made you a new and improved recipe card. 

You might consider this a drawback; you must store them in the refrigerator. Or this could be an advantage because you can easily hide them. They taste like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups but on steroids.

Do you have a favorite Buckeye Christmas cookie recipe? Please share! 

Reading Nook

This month's book club pick was “The Boys in The Boat” by Daniel James Brown, which is excellent. We walk 5 miles every morning, and I listen to my books while walking. There have been very few books that make that walk fly by. This is one of them. I had to check my mileage to be sure we hadn’t missed a turn and spliced off an extra few miles. 

And it is coming to the screen today, December 17th! I can’t wait to see it. 

“Physiologists, in fact, have calculated that rowing a two-thousand-meter race—the Olympic standard—takes the same physiological toll as playing two basketball games back-to-back. And it exacts that toll in about six minutes.” ― Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

What are you reading? 

Final Thoughts

As we wrap up today's Sunday Sip, I encourage you to ponder the unique stories and paths that have led you to where you are today. Remember, like the youngest owlet, there's strength in resilience and beauty in our individual journeys. Here's to a week filled with discovery, growth, and a little bit of adventure. Chuck is on deck for next Sunday. He is already working on his Christmas Eve Special Edition!