Tag, You're It!

So yesterday Feather Nester "tagged" me. I haven't got any clue as to what that means in Blog World, but she seemed really excited about it when she was tagged, so now I feel kind of obligated to do something about it. Plus, I really have nothing to talk about today, so it seems like a pretty good filler. Apparently when you're tagged you have to write 7 interesting facts about yourself and then tag 7 other people. Before we begin, I have two thoughts on this: I make no claims that any of these facts are Interesting. "Interesting" is a high bar to set, so I'm going for random and mildly amusing at best. Second, I don't even think I know 7 other bloggers, and if I do, they are all the exact same people that Feather Nester knows, so I'm ignoring that part of the game.


1) I have an absolute LOVE AFFAIR with paper. All paper of all kinds - note cards, stationary, invitations, wrapping paper, labels, accessories, etc. I seriously can't get enough of it. On those rare occasions when I walk into a boutique paper store, I just wander around wide eyed and aimless, I have no idea what to do with myself. The textures, and the colors, and the beauty - they're just mini pieces of art as far as I'm concerned. My one regret in life is that I didn't realize my love of art sooner so that I could have been an art history major, but even without official training, my love of art is deep and endless. Thankfully I am one of the two remaining people in the world (Ouiser is the other one) who still uses paper and sends notes to people, so it's not a wasted love. I recently used a bunch of ribbon and stamps to make lots of very pretty homemade note cards with matching envelope seals, but I haven't done anything with them yet. No one else actually sends notes, so they would make for useless presents. Maybe I'll try to sell them on Etsy.

2) I'm not one for secrets. It's not that I can't keep secrets, and it's not that I gossip about other people, it just rarely occurs to me that things ARE secrets. Like, if you tell me something without hesitation and we're just chatting away, it often doesn't occur to me that you haven't told other people as well. This has driven my INSANELY PRIVATE husband to drink and prompts him to give me explicit instructions on every little thing - it's highly amusing. When it comes to me, I'll tell you just about anything - the way I see it, we're all doing our best and we're all going through hardships, so what the hell is the point of going through everything in private? Who cares!

I just think that outside of the more intense things you would want to keep private (pregnancy, extreme marital difficulty, etc.) it just doesn't make sense to hide with all of these crazy secrets we're all walking around with. In my experience it does nothing but make people feel more alone. Maya Angelou once said that more than food or water, humans desire validation. And the only way you can know that you're not alone is to share your experiences. Additionally, there's an inherent shame that accompanies secrets. Everyone has problems, nobody is perfect, almost no one is making as much money as they'd like, etc., and yet it seems as though so many of us are feeling ashamed for experiencing things that everyone else is out there experiencing. There's no point to feel ashamed.

3) I have an annoyingly sensitive and delicate body. My back injury is well documented, I'm severely hypoglycemic, I fall asleep at 9pm, NyQuil keeps me up all night due to the small amts. of Sudafed, I get car sick, I often get tired for no reason, etc. And nothing is wrong, I've been like this my whole life. Feather Nester frequently used to tell me in high school that if there were some kind of disaster, I would be the first to die. Clearly, she had watched the movie Alive too many times. My only - seriously sad and half assed - rebuttal was "Not Uh! I'm strong of mind!! Besides... I'm only like 120 pounds. Other than my ass, it doesn't even benefit anyone if I die first, I have no meat."

4) I have always wanted - and continue to want - dark hair and dark eyes. I want to look bold and dramatic! To wear black eyeliner and bold colors! Instead I have clear body hair, have to spend a fair amount of time coloring in my eyebrows and eyelashes if I want to wear makeup, have all kinds of charming freckles, and look nothing even close to bold. Even when I wear makeup, I don't look dramatic, only slightly more visible. Did you notice that every single bridesmaid at the wedding had this look?! Apparently I've unconsciously selected not to be friends with fair-haired people.

5) I have known from the time I was very little, and continue to feel this way, that I was destined for something great, something large. Specifically, I feel destined to be a great healer. I don't know how this will be accomplished, but I know I took a baby step with the writing therapy business, and I know that I'm currently off track. I'll get back on track once life is settled and we're in Tennessee, but regardless of any attempts to ever ignore this voice, it remains persistent and loud. I can't explain it any better than that - it is what it is and one day we'll see how it all plays out. I feel called to help people in a way that only I can create.

6) I'm not good with vulnerability. Much like the secret thing, it's not that I'm consciously ignoring it or ashamed of it, it just doesn't occur to me. We all have our knee jerk ways of reacting to things, and when something is upsetting to me, it doesn't occur to me to talk to other people about it or reach out for help. I just deal with it myself and move on. It usually works better for me because I often find other people's advice to be unhelpful (sorry!). However, of course there are times when it's important to reach out, and being in a relationship with B for five years has taught me when it's good to reach out, so that's been nice. Feather Nester and I were chatting briefly about this when we went to Nashville for a visit - we were saying that some people feel like they can best deal with things and get answers from themselves (me) and some people feel like they can best deal with things by going to other people (her).

7) This one, only B, Feather Nester, and Marissa would know - I'm a huge nut job in the privacy of my own house :) Sometimes - often - I have boundless and manic amounts of silly energy that absolutely must be released or I will die. This results in huge cuddle matches, making up funny songs at any given moment, performing impromptu dance routines, etc. (My brother is similar, but his comes out in different ways) I know for a fact that when B and I got serious, both those girls said to themselves "Bless his heart for dealing with the crazy." They love me, but I think they would prefer if I unleashed my songs and cuddles on someone else for a few years.


Whew! That was exhausting and quite personal. How nice it must be to be you and quietly read this from the privacy of your home. How about some reciprocity? Any chance you want to send me an email with 7 random and personal things about you?? No??