Just to support Shannon, who sounded a little sheepish in her comment a few posts back: Not that there's anything wrong with liking old musicals, and not that the Monaghans don't do lots of other things besides watch old musicals. On recent visits, we've also played hearts and Trivial Pursuits until the wee hours of the morning, and just hung out and talked and goofed around, because the Monaghans are officially Way Cool.

(And by the way: men who marry Monaghans becomes Monaghans in my mind. Yes, I know Shannon and Colleen took their husbands' names, but Todd and Lee have basically been absorbed by the sheer Monaghanness of it all as far as I'm concerned. It's a good thing, I promise.)

I don't know how much I've written about the Monaghans in the past, and I'm too lazy to look it up right now. The Monaghans were one of the the vital things I identified as Cultural Attractions of Wilmington, DE when I was in college -- places I'd show visitors so they'd understand what life in Wilmington was really like for. (The other Cultural Attractions were Fucking Jeremy's house, the Concord Mall and the Charcoal Pit.) Were it not for the Shannon and La Famile Monaghan, I would never have experienced the joy that is Kevin Kline in thigh-high leather boots in Pirates of Penzance. Nor would I observed how to turn a carrot into a net for garnish. Nor would I have seen or done... god, half the things I've done in my life, it feels like. They're a big deal.

I met Shannon at a summer program before junior year of high school. She was (and is) this smart, gorgeous, funny-as-hell, take-charge woman who, for reasons unknown, seemed to like hanging out with me. The six days hanging out with Shannon and Liz Linderman at Governor's School made all the difference for me -- thank god. I was in the "Nobody loves me! No one understands me! I am alone!" stage of adolescence, this was a revelation. (And by the way, it's always amazing to me that I didn't end up a goth. Where there just no goths in suburban Wilmington? Was I too wimpy, too much a good girl? I can't figure it out.)

After Governor's School, I met Shannon's family. It started off a little bumpy. Kate, Shannon's mother, told me at one point that she, Joe (her husband) and Megan (Shannon's next-oldest sister) would occasionally discuss me -- why doesn't Sarah like us? She hangs out with Shannon, but she seems to spend as little time as possible talking with the rest of us. Why is that?

Why? Because these people were overwhelming, terrifying! Shannon's brother and four sisters were, like Shannon, smart, funny, good-looking, confident -- plus, they were loud! I don't remember whether they were really loud, but it was such a contrast to my house. It's not like we Jersilds didn't talk, but lets face it, we tend towards the Scandinavian. Yes, we'd debate things over dinner, and yes, mom is physically incapable of sitting still, but compared to the Monaghan household, Casa Jersild was a still life. The Monaghans all talked! and sang! and argued! and debated! and held court! and just existed on a much more vibrant plane than I had ever encountered before.

Eventually, I figured our that the chaos was a good thing, that the swirl of activity was joyous, and that I could maybe, just maybe, hold my own with these people. I feel like I half lived at Casa Monaghan for the last two years of high school, and spent much of the summers there when Shannon and I were in college. We watched musicals, and went to movies and shows, and we talked and laughed and read and sang and thought and grew up. And I wouldn't be the person I am today without them.

I don't get to see Shannon as often as I'd like -- usually just once a year. I was thrilled when she was in town when we had scheduled a Girls' Night Out movie, and, as I expected, she meshed fabulously with the crew here. She's probably one of the most important friends I will ever have. And the rest of the Monaghans, well, they're pretty far up there as well.

So don't mock the musicals we watched, or the Ren Faires we dressed up for, or the romance novels the Monaghan women tend to read, or the chaos that surrounds them. Respect the Monaghans, and all they're about, or you will answer to me.

If you're lucky, maybe someday you'll meet one of my Monaghans. If you're luckier still, you may find some Monaghans of your own. If you do, jump in and enjoy the ride. Trust me: it'll be one of the best things to ever happen to you.