Sunday Stealing

 Here we go:

1. if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to? I guess they should listen to Mark and the kids and the in-laws. I guess they should watch me and how I live my life. Hopefully, you could watch our grown children and see how they live, too. You should probably read The Enneagram & Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr or The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile. I am a #1 on the Enneagram and as much as I hate to admit it, the definition of a #1 is me. I know the way I answered two parts of the question probably wasn’t the way this question was supposed to be answered but those were my immediate thoughts.

 

2. have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who? I cannot remember his name, but one time I was teaching a large adult Sunday School class and the book was written by a man . . . and I felt like I could have written the same words.

 

3. do you care about your ethnicity? On a daily basis, as a middle class white woman in the U.S., I don’t usually have to think of my ethnicity. I have become more interested in genealogy over the last few years and we had ALWAYS been told that we were ¼ Cherokee. I’ve mentioned this before . . . my DNA shows otherwise. I am mostly Irish with some other European countries thrown in. My granny’s last name was Murphy and I did enjoy our time in Ireland. I did feel a weird bond!

 

4. what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime? I have NO idea.

 

5. are you an artist? Nope. I would love to be, but I’m not. I can be creative but definitely not an artist.

 

6. dog person or cat person? We have a cat, Harvey, so I guess I’m a cat person . . .even though I’m allergic. Our son and his family are dog people, along with their friend. I'm allergic to dogs, too. We ate dinner at their house last night and the dogs love me. This is not a flattering picture of me but it definitely tells a story.

Harvey - in my office with me

This is Dog #1

Different collar - different dog - Let me
lean on you! As soon as one jumped down,
another jumped up.

 

7. inside or outdoors? I guess I’m an indoor person, even though I would like to say outdoor. Mark is very much an outdoor person.

 

8. five most influential books over your lifetime – Y’all know I can’t pick favorites – I did love Same Kind of Different as Me. I loved What’s So Amazing about Grace. I loved American Dirt. I would be remiss if I didn’t say The Bible.

.

9. would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else? Once again, favorites are not my forte’. I would love to go to Narnia and I would love to go to Hogwarts.

 

10. list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order. I’ve never kept up with my life hour by hour but I work, I sleep, I eat, I talk, I cook. I probably read more than I cook, so maybe it should be work, sleep, eat, talk, read, cook. I don’t know.

 

11. have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld” with someone? I’m sure I have but this early on a Sunday morning, that memory is not coming to me. I can think of how I have felt in those moments – the thought “oh my goodness, they get me!” zings through my head!

 

12. could you live as a hermit? It would be very difficult for me to live as a hermit. The 12 weeks we worked from home back in 2020 were hard and I wasn’t alone – Mark was there at least at night.

 

13. do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”? I’m not sure it is. Like I told you earlier, I am a #1 on the enneagram which makes me think I should be perfectly thin. I always struggle with my weight. Back in 2017, Iost 70 pounds and I’ve kept over 60 off but I could still lose at least 25 more.

 

14. three songs that you connect with right now. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, O Holy Night – seriously? I have no idea!

 

15. pick one of your favorite quotes. I used this as the closing greeting on our Christmas cards: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE QUOTE (I HAVE A FAVORITE TODAY!!)

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967