From Facebook

There was a "note" going around Facebook where you ask your child/kid/spawn/whatever questions about yourself and write down their answers. Shanny was kind enough to do it for me. I liked it so much, I want to keep it here, filed as a memoir of sorts. I am also adding a little bit of commentary...

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"You have to say goodbye to me before you leave!"
Actually, I say, "Don't leave without saying good-bye." This is because I am basically a negative person, and I speak in negatives, and Shannon remembers it this way because she is a positive person, and the fact that I, yes I, could raise a positive person is a very encouraging thought indeed.

2. What makes mom happy?
When the people we enjoy on American Idol make it through.
Well, on a small scale, yes.

3. What makes mom sad?
When the spoilers she read for American Idol online are wrong and would have been amazing. It also makes her sad when one of us is not home, so I can extrapolate that when one of us actually moves out for college, she will be very sad.
She said this because I read a spoiler that said Norman/Nick was getting through with Danny and Alexis Grace the first night. I was really sad when it was that other guy instead. WHO IS that other guy, anyway??? And yes, I will be devastated when one of my kids moves out. I literally cried all summer the year Jonathan was going to kindergarten in the fall.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
She does this little dance thing where she kind of leaps about in glee. Also, sometimes she does something cute and then says "oh, I'm so cute!!" and giggles. And sometimes when she is prom dress shopping with Laura, she texts me about how much she hates prom dress shopping. AND when she texts in general, because her phone is set to T9, I believe, so sometimes she can't get the word she wants and has to put spaces between all of the letters. I love that.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Precocious. My favorite picture is the one where Uncle Paul is in a prayer pose and she is just looking at him with a very naughty look on her face. Good picture.
Actually, that was Auntie Beth looking at Uncle Paul with the naughty expression on her face, and it may be the only time Beth ever looked the slightest bit naughty in her entire life, which is certainly why Shannon confused her with me. I was definitely the naughty one, but I was ten and a half years younger than Uncle Paul, so by the time I was old enough to have an expression of naughtiness like that one, he was big enough to make me behave (and he was no longer being forced to pose in heart-rending moments for Christmas cards).

6. How old is your mom?
21. And let me tell you, having a mom who is only two years older than me is good times!
This is why I pay her the big bucks.

7. How tall is your mom?
She doesn't really know and neither do I. I think we usually say 5'6" or 5'7"

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
She likes to read. She likes to read the Bible. She's a very good writer, although I don't know if she does that much writing anymore. Also, she likes to watch BBC movies, Jeeves and Wooster, Masterpiece Theater.... but I have to set it up for her because we have a TiVo now and it messes with the system something awful.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Works on her Bible study, cleans my room (which I constantly tell her not to do because I spend my life in a kind of perpetual guilt trip), goes shopping on Tuesdays when she actually has a car, lets the dogs sleep on her lap... she's much more fun when I'm around! ;)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Being my mother. I'M TOTALLY KIDDING. Mostly. She'll be famous for writing, maybe... maybe for writing Bible studies like Beth Moore. Man, heck if I know. I never wanted to be famous, so I can never imagine what it would take to be famous.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Writing. Taking care of me when I have pneumonia. She also bakes a mean egg bake. And just about everything else. My mom is seriously the best cook I know. Although one time she made cherry cheese pie with poison cherries... at least we're all alive to tell the tale (which does take something from its credence).
Obviously they weren't really poisonous cherries. They were just weird. The gooey part around the cherries was all the wrong consistency, with lumps. I was so sad, when I dumped those bad cherries on the up-to-that-point perfect cheese pie. But we ate it, and it tasted good, and nobody died, despite my worst and most pessimistic fears. I ate it, too, because I certainly didn't want to be the only one left alive.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Staying calm in the face of danger. No really. She's pretty neurotic. Like when Laura had to go to the ER last weekend for her concussion... and there I was, feeling very upstaged with my pneumonia. So we went to fill my prescription and the insurance company dropped me because I'm 19 and apparently they needed some paperwork that they never told us about because I'm in college. So she half-yelled about that to the girl at the desk. At least my z-pack wasn't that expensive, but on the flip side, it WAS just six pills. But anyway. She's bad at staying calm. As in, she can't watch House with us. And we don't usually take her with us to auditions.

Also, she's not very good at bearing the brunt of braces. But she does try, and I have to give her credit for that.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
She makes me soup when I'm sick :)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Cherries and watermelon. And probably some other things. I think she likes that chicken and rice dish we had last night because I feel like we have it like clockwork every week. It's okay though, it's pretty delish.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
She is a genius. Did you know she graduated college with a 4.0? This is what I have to live up to.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Arnold from the Magic Schoolbus. Hahahahahaha remember that show?! DID YOU KNOW THAT LILY TOMLIN DID MS. FRIZZLE'S VOICE?! That totally blew my mind.
Arnold was the one who always said, "I knew I should have stayed home today." I can see that.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Sometimes we go to lunch or to dinner. I'm a very big fan of food. We usually watch some Jeeves and Wooster or Star Trek TNG with Dad on the weekends. We also talk a lot and sometimes we go shopping together but it never lasts very long because we both hate shopping.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Well, as I previously mentioned, we both hate shopping. Also, we are both females and sometimes I'm a little type-A, too, but mostly only about my notes.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Well in general I am not as neurotic as my mother. I'm also quite a lot taller than her and I have blue eyes. I'm also quieter than she is and my temper isn't as hot. I can't dance like she can because I kind of thud around the house. I'm also better with computers than she is (makes sense, right?) and I bail her out sometimes. On the computer, I mean.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She takes care of me when I'm sick and buys my medicine even though the insurance company won't pay attention. She fills my car up with gas sometimes. She tells me how she's glad that I still live at home because she would miss me if I left, and she cooks me food and says hello to me in the morning and when I get home from school. She prays for me when I have exams (and prays for me when I don't have exams, too). She doesn't let me get away with things that I shouldn't get away with. She also gives me hugs when I need them.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Aw man. Well, I think she kind of likes to stay home as long as some of us are home. I know where she DOESN'T like to go, but where she does like to go... she likes Wegmans better than WalMart and she hates Carousel Mall. But really, I think she likes to be at home especially when she's not alone. She doesn't have much of a choice during the days when Dad takes his car and I take mine and DJ and Laura take the van.
I do like to go to Minnesota, and also to the North Carolina shore. But I don't like to travel in general; it really stresses me out, and also makes me sick (I am highly suseceptible to motion sickness no matter the mode of transport). So this is rather a good assessment.