Trading places with a member of your family

[Steel]

If you could trade places with any family member for a period of time, say a day or two, who would you choose and why?

You could be one of your parents, your son or daughter or any extended family member.
You could gain their perspective, shave off an annoying moustache or enjoy their lifestyle etc.

(Not to get too quantum physical about it all, but you would also still be you so that you would be able to interact with yourself.)

 

[purrfectpear]

Small family, not much to pick from. I''m going to have to stay with my own life I think.

My mom is retired and doesn''t have a particularly winning personality, plus she''s starting to repeat herself.

My dad is also retired, has poor health, and is a real milquetoast.

My son is 26, and in the Air Force. I don''t think I have any interest in his right wing conservative views (I love the kid, but no desire to hop in his life)

I wouldn''t mind trading places with my Silky Terrier though. He''s got a pretty sweet life, good health, and I wonder what he thinks about

 

[Lauren8211]

I''d switch with my cat so I can stay home all day and sleep. Oh - and pee wherever I want, apparently.

 

[somethingshiny]

The only person I would switch with would be my 4 yr old. For him life is great and new, fun and exciting ALL day long. Plus he doesn''t have to cook and has minimum cleaning duties! I''d also like to know his point of view on me as a mom.

Of course if we''re actually TRADING places, I''m not sure how well he''d handle the house...

I wouldn''t switch with any of my siblings or parents if you paid me. I love my life and wouldn''t want to try on theirs.

 

[Maisie]

I would switch with my dad. He drives huge trucks for a living. I would love to drive down the motorway honking my horn!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 2/25/2010 4:05:40 PM
Author: elledizzy5
I''d switch with my cat so I can stay home all day and sleep. Oh - and pee wherever I want, apparently.

Minus the pee part, THIS. My cat lives the liiiife.

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 2/25/2010 4:03:51 PM
Author: purrfectpear


I wouldn''t mind trading places with my Silky Terrier though. He''s got a pretty sweet life, good health, and I wonder what he thinks about

Yep, I''d choose to trade places with my Chihuahua/Pug mix

 

[zoebartlett]

Hands down, I''d choose my sister. She is one of the most interesting people I know. She''s very creative, very "outside the box," whereas I''m more of an "in the box" type. She graduated from college and moved across the country to the Pacific Northwest with her boyfriend. They had created their own theater company when they were in college, and they moved to pursue their dream of opening their theater. Shortly after arriving, both my sister and my BIL worked for a a very specific type of performance art/theater company, and they got to travel the US and the world for a few years.

Now, although both have left that theater, my sister and BIL are still working in various theaters in their city. My sister still travels for shows in other parts of the country and she loves it. She''s a very silly, thoughtful, positive, caring, creative, and happy person. In the summers, she works at a performing arts camp, teaching writing, juggling, acting, and other various things.

Oh yeah, and when she''s not working as an actress or a writer, my sister is a dog trainer. She has a "side" business training puppies in her area. She''s wonderful at it, too. She trained one of their dogs as a therapy dog, and he travels everywhere she does.

Basically, she''s just a really cool person, someone who''d you love to hang out with and listen to her talk for hours about her adventures.

 

[Steel]

I could choose to be any member of my family; just as long as I get a return ticket. I wouldn''t want to get stuck in crazytown.

But I would love to be my DH. It would be interesting to know him better and see through his eye. Plus he is so much taller, just think of the items I could reach without a chair!

 

[Bleed Burnt Orange]

My middle brother. He''s an MD/PhD grad from Harvard Med. He''s SMART, and athletic, and motivated, and disciplined. Everyone is instantly impressed by him. I always joke that he pooled all the good genes and a few trickled down to me. I''m his younger sister.

I''m an engineer, but I would LOVE being a doctor, so I''d like to see what his life in the hospital is like...for a few days!

Or...my eldest brother also an engineer, drives a sweet ride (BMW X6) and is very well respected among his work colleagues. BIG company in the energy industry, which is the same industry that I work in. I''m a small fish compared to him though.

Again...I think I''d like it only for a few days.

Or...my older nephew (age 2.5), who is a smart kid and so sweet, and cute. I''m his jaded aunt who needs to be rid of some worries.

But...the FIRST choice is the doc in the family.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/25/2010 4:05:40 PM
Author: elledizzy5
I''d switch with my cat so I can stay home all day and sleep. Oh - and pee wherever I want, apparently.

hahaha me too. I''d be the cat, pee everywhere and then have my mom (aka my cat for the day) pet me and say that I''m still loved.

 

[Efe]

I would be my cousin, who is a billionaire. Oh the damage I could do in one day.

 

[Lilac]

I think I would want to trade places with DH. See things through his eyes for a day

It would be fun to be any of my siblings though, because they''re so much younger. I would love to see the world through the eyes of a 7 year old again

 

[ladypirate]

Oh, definitely the cat. Or if in-laws count, maybe FI''s cousin in Jersey. I swear, he talks like he''s on Jersey Shore!

 

[vc10um]

I''d be my SO for the day. I have no desire to be my mother or my sister...I''ve got a pretty good handle on how they work...but A, on the other hand, thinks so uniquely at times that I''d love to understand how when he connects A to B, sometimes it looks like one of those krazy straws you used as a kid...whereas mine''s generally a straight line.

 

[Kaleigh]

DD hands down. She''s having the time of her life, she''s in Europe having a blast. She worked hard to graduate early, and is smart as heck. I love how she thinks, her views are spot on. She''s not a mamby pamby, she''s brass tacks, and I like that.

 

[jjc]

Date: 2/25/2010 7:06:48 PM
Author: Kaleigh
DD hands down. She''s having the time of her life, she''s in Europe having a blast. She worked hard to graduate early, and is smart as heck. I love how she thinks, her views are spot on. She''s not a mamby pamby, she''s brass tacks, and I like that.

So sorry for the threadjack, but Kaleigh I just wanted to tell you that I so love the way you talk about your kids, especially your DD. This post really made me smile, and it just makes me so happy to know how wonderful it is for both you and your DD to have each other

 

[Maisie]

Date: 2/25/2010 5:03:36 PM
Author: Steal
I could choose to be any member of my family; just as long as I get a return ticket. I wouldn''t want to get stuck in crazytown.


But I would love to be my DH. It would be interesting to know him better and see through his eye. Plus he is so much taller, just think of the items I could reach without a chair!

Aww you are cute!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I would want to trade with my aunt who''s quite wealthy, just to figure out how much extra happiness money could buy

 

[elrohwen]

Honestly, nobody. My family isn''t that large and most of them are crazy.

The only one I might switch with is my aunt who lives in Sweden. It would be so cool to live over there for a while!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/25/2010 4:37:06 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Hands down, I''d choose my sister. She is one of the most interesting people I know. She''s very creative, very ''outside the box,'' whereas I''m more of an ''in the box'' type. She graduated from college and moved across the country to the Pacific Northwest with her boyfriend. They had created their own theater company when they were in college, and they moved to pursue their dream of opening their theater. Shortly after arriving, both my sister and my BIL worked for a a very specific type of performance art/theater company, and they got to travel the US and the world for a few years.

Now, although both have left that theater, my sister and BIL are still working in various theaters in their city. My sister still travels for shows in other parts of the country and she loves it. She''s a very silly, thoughtful, positive, caring, creative, and happy person. In the summers, she works at a performing arts camp, teaching writing, juggling, acting, and other various things.

Oh yeah, and when she''s not working as an actress or a writer, my sister is a dog trainer. She has a ''side'' business training puppies in her area. She''s wonderful at it, too. She trained one of their dogs as a therapy dog, and he travels everywhere she does.

Basically, she''s just a really cool person, someone who''d you love to hang out with and listen to her talk for hours about her adventures.

I change my answer - I want to be Zoe''s sister!!

 

[iheartscience]

Hmmm that's hard! I guess I'd swap with my oldest brother. He lives in Sweden and travels to Finland a lot for work and I've never been to either place.

My husband and I are going to visit my brother and his fam this summer when it's warm enough there to be enjoyable-I hate the cold! So I guess if I did swap places with him it would have to be in the summer time!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/25/2010 9:08:26 PM
Author: thing2of2
Hmmm that''s hard! I guess I''d swap with my oldest brother. He lives in Sweden and travels to Finland a lot for work and I''ve never been to either place.

My husband and I are going to visit my brother and his fam this summer when it''s warm enough there to be enjoyable-I hate the cold! So I guess if I did swap places with him it would have to be in the summer time!

My aunt lives over there! Where does your brother live? I visted my aunt in Uppsala years ago and it was fantastic. I can''t wait to go back some day.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 2/25/2010 7:17:40 PM
Author: jjc

Date: 2/25/2010 7:06:48 PM
Author: Kaleigh
DD hands down. She''s having the time of her life, she''s in Europe having a blast. She worked hard to graduate early, and is smart as heck. I love how she thinks, her views are spot on. She''s not a mamby pamby, she''s brass tacks, and I like that.

So sorry for the threadjack, but Kaleigh I just wanted to tell you that I so love the way you talk about your kids, especially your DD. This post really made me smile, and it just makes me so happy to know how wonderful it is for both you and your DD to have each other

Thanks jjc. DD and I are two peas in a pod. I must say, I couldn''t trade with DS, he''s taking Arabic, economics and stats...... Way over my head. He''s such a great kid, very funny and very charming. He''s very much like his sister.
We are very blessed.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/25/2010 9:11:33 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 2/25/2010 9:08:26 PM

Author: thing2of2

Hmmm that''s hard! I guess I''d swap with my oldest brother. He lives in Sweden and travels to Finland a lot for work and I''ve never been to either place.

My husband and I are going to visit my brother and his fam this summer when it''s warm enough there to be enjoyable-I hate the cold! So I guess if I did swap places with him it would have to be in the summer time!

My aunt lives over there! Where does your brother live? I visted my aunt in Uppsala years ago and it was fantastic. I can''t wait to go back some day.

He lives in Stockholm and I am DYING to go there. His wife is Swedish and they just moved there about 2.5 years ago. Their plan is to live there for about 5 years and then come back to the U.S. We would have visited last summer but I got married so they came here for that. They have 3 kids and they''re all bilingual...for some reason kids speaking 2 languages really impresses me even though I know that''s the easiest time for them to learn!

 

[JSM]

My middle sister. She''s in her junior year at college and having the time of her life. She''s having way more fun in college than I did, and I''d like to experience it!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/25/2010 9:48:09 PM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 2/25/2010 9:11:33 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 2/25/2010 9:08:26 PM

Author: thing2of2

Hmmm that's hard! I guess I'd swap with my oldest brother. He lives in Sweden and travels to Finland a lot for work and I've never been to either place.

My husband and I are going to visit my brother and his fam this summer when it's warm enough there to be enjoyable-I hate the cold! So I guess if I did swap places with him it would have to be in the summer time!

My aunt lives over there! Where does your brother live? I visted my aunt in Uppsala years ago and it was fantastic. I can't wait to go back some day.

He lives in Stockholm and I am DYING to go there. His wife is Swedish and they just moved there about 2.5 years ago. Their plan is to live there for about 5 years and then come back to the U.S. We would have visited last summer but I got married so they came here for that. They have 3 kids and they're all bilingual...for some reason kids speaking 2 languages really impresses me even though I know that's the easiest time for them to learn!

That's really cool! You definitely need to visit before they move to the states. My aunt married a Swedish guy too. They're divorced now, but she's stayed because they have two kids and she can't just move off with them somewhere. She's had a fabulous time as a single mom in a Socialist country - free daycare is the best thing ever

. I also find it really cool that her kids are so bilingual. They're funny though - when they were little, they didn't talk much because they thought their English was bad - now they're older teenagers and barely have an accent when they speak.

The more I think about it, the more I would definitely trade with her for a few weeks.

 

[Vancity]

My younger brother. He was born with cerebral palsy.

I would gladly give him my "able" frame, so that he may experience a day, unencumbered by a physical body that always betrays him.

He would be able to walk...dance...run...jump...skate...twirl...whatever his heart desires...to simply be able to "move", easily and without pain...something that I take for granted.
His sweet soul always flies free, but I would give anything to let him "walk in my shoes"...even if for just a day.

 

[akmiss]

Date: 2/25/2010 11:12:33 PM
Author: Vancity

My younger brother. He was born with cerebral palsy.

I would gladly give him my ''able'' frame, so that he may experience a day, unencumbered by a physical body that always betrays him.

He would be able to walk...dance...run...jump...skate...twirl...whatever his heart desires...to simply be able to ''move'', easily and without pain...something that I take for granted.

His sweet soul always flies free, but I would give anything to let him ''walk in my shoes''...even if for just a day.

This is very sincere and you are obviously a great sister

My son has Erb''s Palsy and while very different form cerebral palsy, it still has its physical limitations. I would love to understand what life is like for my son.

 

[kittybean]

Vancity, what a sweet sister you are.

I would trade places with my youngest brother. He''s an amazing freestyle skier, and I just want to feel what it is like to go off giant jumps and flip and spin in the air with zero fear. I was a ski racer for years, but I was never brave enough to fly off jumps. In addition, he''s just an all-around awesome, friendly, outgoing, smart, funny kid, and I''m sure it would be fun to step into his shoes for a little while.