Birthday Girl

Forty-One.  Already.  I feel much younger, but my shell belies the truth.  I found the idea for this post some time ago on another blog.  Perhaps you'll find it interesting.  Perhaps not.  Regardless, it's good for me to reflect a bit.  Forty-one years is a long time to spend in thought.

41 Things about Me 

1. I am saved by grace, thank God.  John 3:16 is what matters most.
2. Biscuits and Gravy.  My favorite food.  Ever.  I have the fondest memories of such breakfasts with my grandparents. 
3. I have regrets but will probably never tell you what they are.
4. I have a white tattoo on the inside of my writer's wrist: an anchor.  It means a lot to me. 
5. The greatest gifts are daughters.  And books.
6. I am cultivating a great story in my head.  I hope it continues to find its way to my pen.
7. I remember more than you realize. 
8. I love to teach.  In my next life, I'm heading to law school.
9. My favorite color is green, followed by red and brown.
10. I have graphochromatic synaethesia...never a dull hue.
11. I respect people who have points of view.
12. I am extremely opinionated and generally believe my views are correct, but I respect your right to disagree.  See #11. 
13. I love thunderstorms, the smell of rain, autumn, and the silence of snowfall.
14. I could live forever in a cabin in the Smokies...
15. ...or in a Captain's House on Nantucket.  Both are heaven on earth.  This, I know for sure.
16. I vote my conscience.
17. I miss my dad and always will.
18. My students are fabulous...and they know it.
19. Education matters, and I hate it when parents don't support and encourage their children's academic efforts.
20. I still carry the key to my 1970 VW Bug on my key ring.  What a car... 
21. I wish the Sonny and Cher Show was still on TV.
22. I've come a long way, yet realize I'm just getting started.
23. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I prefer to have WILD turkey (the bird, of course).
24. I've studied 3 foreign languages and can't remember any of them.  I prefer English anyway.
25. I have a diverse group of friends and like it that way.
26. My mom and my sisters are among my dearest friends.
27. I know what my mom meant when she said, "I hope you have kids just like you someday."  Payback is hell.  Despite that, my daughters are amazingly strong and independent individuals whom I adore.
28. I am a grammar snob. Ugh.
29. I am a recovering pessimist (which makes me an optimist).
30. The Serenity Prayer...words to live by.
31. I enjoy poetry...in print, in a smile, in the heart. 
32. I am a very creative, but analytical and Type A personality.  I like the dichotomy.
33. To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book.  It is a sermon.
34. Talk books with me and I'll love you forever.
35. Songs in minor keys tell stories that require no words.  I like them the best.
36. I can play the piano and flute.
37. Teddy and Cat are my best friends. These childhood animal pals have never let me down.
38. I am an extrovert (duh).
39. My favorite nickname is Mom.
40. Forty.  I learned a lot this past year.  It wasn't such a bad age after all.
41. I've entered a doctoral program at the university where I first began my college experience many years ago.  I hope I'm never accused of being stagnant.  I hope you aren't either.

"Get over the idea that only children should spend time in study.  Be a student so long as you still have something to learn and this will mean all your life."  ~Henry Doherty

Point taken.  xo, ~S.