“Every family has its own quirky attitudes”

EVERY family has it’s own kind of etiquette, a set of distinctive idiosyncrasies that help define it.

I’m not talking here about shared personality traits that come down on the DNA, like the temper of a crazed despot or genetic markers like bunions. I’m talking about foibles around odd issues, quirky familial attitudes.

These family oddities can transfer from one generation to another. My mother had an attitude to illness that was so robust it verged on callous. ‘Take a Panadol’ best describes the approach she took to our ailments. Malingering wasn’t an option because only illnesses with symptoms that were glaring and specific, like measles or chickenpox, counted. My five siblings and I were dispatched to school with all sorts of ailments, whatever the weather.