8 Random Facts Meme

Waltzing Matilda sort of tagged me for this meme (I didn't really feel that tag Matilda--I think you might still be it).

I'm just a little afraid of this meme. Stating random facts about myself is just setting me up for you thinking that I am extraordinarily weird. So, please don't hold this against me. Just forget what you read as soon as you are finished. I'm going to start with a few light facts and then get into the serious stuff (oh, no!).


1. I am the oldest in my family with three younger brothers. And since I have three sons and a daughter, I officially had my same family only in reverse, three boys, then a girl. I'm glad I came from a family with boys, so I didn't have culture shock when I had sons. Women who don't have brothers and then have sons have my pity -- big culture shock.

2. This sort of goes with number two -- I love boys. Not in the romantic love way, but in the "I think they are so great" way. I love that boys are straight shooters. You always know just where you stand. No emotional stuff. I guess I'm a guy's girl. I prefer boys to girls. This probably stems from being raised with no sisters. I had no close contact (other than friendships) with other girls until I lived in the sorority house in college. And I found that I don't really like living with other girls. Too much emotion. That's not saying I don't love my daughter, but she's a kind of guy's girl too. She gets them -- she's a chip off the old block.

3. My only big job after college and before having kids was working for the American Red Cross. Neat place to work. I did media relations for over five years, which sounds really important (or maybe not), but it's not. The only fun thing about it is that you know all of the dirt about your organization. I worked for the Red Cross in the mid-80s right about the time that they found out that AIDS can be transmitted through the blood supply. I learned more than I ever thought I would know about blood and transmissible disease. I went to the National American Red Cross in DC twice to be trained to deal with this issue. It was big! I also gave gallons of my own blood and sat for hours while they took my white cells (it's called apheresis) for teeny preemies and childhood leukemia patients who needed them. Blood aside, I also learned all about Disaster Services which is a really neat aspect of the American Red Cross. Don't listen to the media, they really do great things. If you ever get hit by a major disaster, you will be overjoyed to see the American Red Cross truck coming down your street.

4. I sometimes think I am having an identity crisis. I am German by ancestry, but I think I should have been an Italian southerner in the 18th century (see, this where the weird comes in). I am attracted to all things Italian. I love to hear about the culture, and the people, and the food, and I love to listen to Italians talk about their ancestry. I also love the south. I love listening to southerners talk, I love southern food, and I love the culture. I think the North is boring by comparison. I think I got gypped. I also think I was born in the wrong century. I think I should have been born in the pioneer days. I love the idea of growing your food and making every thing you need to live. It's so practical. I know, that's easy to say when you have a running water, a clothes washer, dishwasher, refrigerator and air conditioning. Pie in the sky.

5. This one kind of goes with #5. I am extremely practical. And when I say extremely, I mean I go right up to the line that goes into "no fun land" and I stop -- right at the line (although my kids still say I'm no fun -- but that's because I'm mom). If something has no real practical purpose, I have no use for it. That goes for things and activities. It doesn't mean I can't do it, but it just doesn't seem right. For this reason, I have very few clothes. Just the basic necessities -- nothing extra. I wear a "unform" every day. Khaki pants and a cotton blouse. I also don't watch TV, except for movies, and then I have to be knitting or quilting or mending clothes or ironing. I cannot just sit. I love to cook, sew, knit, garden, and in general, make what I need to live. I wish I could build a log cabin or something. (Blogging seems to be the only activity that is breaking my rules on practicality. I think it must have a purpose, I just haven't figured it out yet.)

6. I never thought I would home school. Never. In fact, when my aunt began homeschooling about 16 years ago, I actually said out loud (not to her of course) "Who does she think she is? Does she think she knows more than teachers?" Well, I had like a one year old at the time. I had no idea that moms actually do know more than teachers, especially about their own kids. And I didn't know that a BS in Education only means you get to do crowd control. Sorry if there are any teachers reading this. I don't fault teachers for schools being train wrecks. I fault lazy parents, and I'm sure teachers would be great teachers if they weren't fixing bad parenting.

7. When I grow up (like when I'm finished home schooling my own children but am old and cannot "retire" because I have no money) I am going to teach high school religion. Preferably I will run the religion department at St. Charles (my son's all-boys school) -- am I dreaming or what?). And I'm not talking about this social justice garbage that they teach now. I have four years all laid out -- you want to hear it? Sure you do. First year -- Baltimore Catechism 3. Most boys won't have heard of it before. It will be a challenge. Second year -- Baltimore Catechism 3 with Scripture study. Third year -- Church History and Study of Catholic Saints. Fourth year - Apologetics. I have no idea how I will do this, the Holy Spirit is going to have to give me a hand.

8. My father died of a heart attack when I was a sophomore in college. One minute he was there, the next minute he was not. Literally. I say this not for a pity party, but because I think it changed who I was. I think that barring death, nothing really rattles me. And even then, I know that if someone dies, everything will be o.k. I think that even if I were told I had a terminal illness, I would be o.k. I suppose it's my faith in God. I know that everything will be fine. I guess my measuring stick for catastrophe is really high. I know that many people deal with the death of a parent, or God forbid a child, but we do go on. I guess I feel like one of the worst things that could happen already happened and I continued to exist and believe in God. What could be worse? That said, if there's a bug in my hair, you will see me dance!

I hope I didn't get too serious. I know they were supposed to be random facts. Define random. Anyway, now you know me. That's everything (well, except the medical stuff and we won't go there. Yet.)

I'm sort of the tail-end of this thing and I think lots of you girls have been tagged, so I don't have 8. I tag Michelle, Lana, Denise, Deborah (if she's still out there - what's up Deborah?), and patjrsmom. Leave a comment if you play, so I can post a link.

Michelle is playing. So is Deborah and Lana.