Imperfect Genius

Not June Cleaver has tagged me for this meme. I’ll enact my revenge later. Meanwhile…

1) A shooting star fell beside me while I was walking down a path at my grandparents’ house. I think I was about 14. A bright light caught the corner of my eye and I looked up to see a small ball of fire hurtling at me. Dumbstruck, I just stood there and watched it fall into a pile of leaves, which briefly caught fire. I dug around to see if I could find anything, but all that was left were a few charred leaves and several hot pebbles that looked like normal earth rock.

2) I had both of my children before getting married. I was against marriage for a long time. In fact when I started dating Chris my mom felt the need to pull him to the side and ask him, “You do know that she’s not going to marry you, right?” Well, we did in fact get married. But not until after we had both our children and went on our honeymoon. I like doing things backwards, lol. There are many reasons why I hesitated to get married: I don’t feel the need to prove commitment to a relationship through legal means, I disagree with the conventional role of husband and wife, and because I am deeply concerned that the freedom to marry has not been granted to all citizens of our country.

3) I gave both of my children two middle names. We rarely ever use them, but they have special meanings. For example, one of my daughter’s middle names, Surahtah, is Hindu and it roughly translates as “the transcendent joy experienced by parents during conception”. In other words, it means she’s been loved since she was conceived.

4) Okay, now for a secret confession that only people closest to me know. I love Friends. Yes, the NBC tv show. I know, it ended, but I still love it all the same. I have all 10 seasons on DVD and I’ve probably watched each episode at least a zillion times. I could blame this on the fact that we gave up cable and that occasionally I like to have something on in the background. I play Friends when I’m doing other things, like reading or blogging. I cannot write or think or read when there is absolute silence. People seem to have either loved it or hated the show. I think it was fabulously witty and extremely well written. I love all the inside jokes, the ones that you only understood if you knew the show well. I grew to love the characters. And yes, I cried during the final episode. Okay, there. My secret is out. Please don’t throw things at me.

5) I skipped a grade in high school and I am forever grateful for this. I actually wanted to learn while in school, which was a challenge because of all the politics, mind games, and fighting. I think I was the only kid in my class that read the textbooks for fun and loved going to the library. I didn’t quite fit in with any particular group. I wasn’t athletic or preppy and I wasn’t a cheerleader or on the debate team. I ended up hanging out with all the other kids who didn’t fit in. I was quite happy to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. I’ve never been to a class reunion and don’t have plans on going anytime in the future. The only person I’ve remained in touch with over the years is my best friend Jenn, whom I met my senior year.

6) I’ve been the owner of a partially finished home for two years now. TWO YEARS. And we still aren’t living there. It was built circa 1870 and has great Victorian bones. But it needs lots of work to bring it into the 21st century. There are days when I ask myself if I was certifiably insane for even thinking about buying it. And yet we did. The mantra I’ve been repeating for the last 745 days is: I can’t wait to move. I’m getting tired of hearing myself say it. The kids will have a a real yard, we’ll have space for our library, err… homeschooling supplies, and I’ll be able to walk three feet without stepping on a small child or furry animal. It seems like a distant dream.

7) I remember my first few moments of life in the world. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska in the middle of the night during a snowstorm (go figure). I can remember the blurry faces of my mom and the nurse and a vague image of the darkness of the window behind my mother’s hospital bed. I blame Alaska for making me a night owl and screwing up my internal clock. My parents had to put aluminum foil on the windows at night to keep the sunlight out. I rarely ever wear a jacket, even in the winter. I haven’t bought a coat in years. I’m not sure if that’s due to my general strangeness or from being acclimated to Alaskan weather. It was not unheard of to have temperatures fall to 30 below zero. My husband freaks out at the mere thought of cold weather. He hates Virginia winters and wants to move to the tropics. Fat chance getting him on a cruise to the Inside Passage any time soon.

My favorite food in the world is Japanese. I could eat it every day. I love hibachi grill and anything dipped in shrimp sauce. I like Spider Maki (soft shell crab sushi). I could eat my weight in tempura vegetables and fried tofu with spicy sweet sauce. Yum. My kids dig Japanese food, too. They love twisted rolls (steamed, puffy rice rolls) and they eat sushi as well. If we won the lottery I’d hire someone to cook this stuff all day long. I’d be fat as a pig. But then again, I could probably afford a personal trainer and a plastic surgeon.

9) Each May I go to UU Womenspirit, held in the mountains of North Carolina. I look forward to it all year long. It’s just about the most wonderful place on earth. I laugh so much my body aches and there are always some happy tears of gratitude and joy as well. Womenspirit is an inclusive, vibrant, peaceful space for women. Twice a year (another retreat held is in the fall) women from all over come together to form an intentional community. It’s the only time I’ve ever felt completely 100% accepted and loved outside of my own crazy family. It’s a safe haven, a respite, a wonderful life-affirming experience. I’d love to share it with all the women in my life, and I plan to bring my daughter when she comes of age.

10) In December I’m hitting the road to the Florida Keys. I’m going camping with the family. We’re escaping the winter stress to celebrate the holidays island style. It’ll be the first time my son sees the ocean, he’s already so excited. While everyone back home freezes their tookus off, we’ll be sipping margaritas on the beach. Cheers!