Every family has one

Every family has one. This is the kid who keeps everything in an uproar at all times. The surprises come one after another and after a while you wonder why you are surprised at all. This is the kid who takes every unconventional turn and ends up landing on his feet, running at full speed.

Meet my nephew Deke. He has been the one who has kept everyone in turmoil his entire life and gets great pleasure out of it. He loves to tease everyone and everything, cousins, aunts, dogs, cats, anything that breathes. A straight answer never comes out of his mouth. To him, rules are meant to be broken, or at least bent severely.

Deke has always been fascinated with fire. I have heard more than one story about how my sister's house or something else was nearly burned down. Fireworks were especially fun. When this kid was 14 he tried to break a telephone pole in half with his head while on an ATV. Thank heavens he was wearing a helmet. That little stunt got him a ride in a LifeFlight helicopter and great big scars on his chest, which he proudly showed off to his missionary companions. One of my favorite times with Deke was visiting him in the hospital while he was recovering and taking a bunch of boxes of Poppers, those little firecracker things that explode when you throw them at the ground. We had a great time on the second floor balcony throwing them at people walking into the hospital below!

About a month ago Athena called me with another Deke story. A reliable source had told her that he was going to get married soon. I told her "no way". Surely, his FA would have known about it. By the end of the day the rumor had been confirmed. No one had even met this lovely lady yet. Well, I finally got a chance to meet the fiance last Saturday and take some photos of the soon-to-be-wed couple. She is a delight, as are her two little boys. A date has not been set yet, but the tentative plans for the party afterward is a large bonfire at the home he is building. Is anyone surprised?

By the way, every family has a Deke. If you can't figure out who yours is, chances are it is you!

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