Some 'Me' Facts

Image by Cally Lawson from Pixabay

" Getting to know someone else

involves curiosity about where they have

come from, who they are. "

PENELOPE LIVELY

Getting to know someone is a little like painting a picture. Every brushstroke on a canvas adds a detail to the subject the artist wishes to portray. So too, it's the details of our lives that eventually paints the picture of who we are becoming. No one knows all the details -- we don't even know everything about ourselves, at least not when we first start out. Sometimes the particulars seem insignificant by themselves so we might brush them off, even forget them. But over time, the details put together begin to reveal quite a story, one that often surprises us. Even when we think we know someone well, a new detail can have us exclaiming, "Oh, I didn't know that about you". 

I've been blogging and sharing details of my life since the summer of 2008. So there's a good bit you probably know if you've been following along. Still, there's much that hasn't been revealed—a little mystery is good. I'm hoping the following list of 'Me' facts will have a surprise or two as you read along with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

In the spirit of connecting as we shelter in place, I'd love a detail or two from you—something we might not know that you don't mind sharing here.

Now, I'm humming that old tune Getting To Know You from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King & I.

𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅯 ...Getting to know you,

Getting to feel free and easy

When I am with you,

Getting to know what to say

Haven't you noticed

Suddenly I'm bright and breezy?

Because of all the beautiful and new

Things I'm learning about you

Day by day. 𝅘𝅥𝅰𝅘𝅥𝅰

LYRICS BY RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN

" The shortest distance between two people is a story. "

PATTI DIGH
Four-Word Self-Help: Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives

1.

I was born on a Wednesday in early Spring in the
peak of the Baby Boomer years

2.

I grew up on a farm on the Canadian prairies

3.

I am a second generation Canadian on my dad's side
and a third generation on my mom's side

4.
I'm the eldest of four

5.

I speak English; I know a smattering of

French, German, Spanish

6.

Favourite forever movies—

Chariots of Fire

Brideshead Revisited

Enchanted April

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

You've Got Mail 

7.

I can't watch any film or read any book where children

or animals are abused in any way

8.

I sometimes have the urge to laugh in the middle of tense moments

e.g. in the middle of a funeral service,

when two of us are hauling heavy furniture down the stairs

9.

I like popcorn with real butter, lots of it

10.

Books I've loved since forever—

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Living A Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard

* * *

11.

I can express myself better in writing
than in real person

12.

I can’t swim—years ago I took the Absolutely Terrified class
and eventually graduated to Terrified

13.

I married for the first time when it was mostly

too late to have kids, so we didn't (yes, I was sad
about that, but no regrets either)

14.

I don't like things sprung on me in surprise,
except for presents and flowers

15.

I prefer to know ahead when someone is coming over.

Otherwise, I feel cheated of the opportunity to prepare my home,

as well as my mind and heart, to welcome that person with open arms

16.

I love sandwiches, egg salad in particular, on white bread,
cut into squares or triangles

17.

I wear lipstick even if I'm not going out

18.

I like Facebook and Twitter (I know, I know,
that's for people of a certain age, that's me)

19.

I am a lover of Jesus Christ, who once said the greatest command of all

is to love God and our neighbours as ourselves— that's my heart desire.

20.

I don't have any tattoos, not planning on getting any either,

I do have two piercings....in my earlobes

* * *

21.

As a girl, I thought it so romantic to fall in love at first sight, 

but at 40, I deliberately chose to fall in love with
someone I already knew and liked

22.

I love writing blog posts

23.

A garden is a happy place for me

24.

I loved to skip rope as a girl and
chant the merry songs that went with them

25.

I like coffee, cream, no sugar

26.

I adore Lays ripple potato chips
and Cheetos crunchy cheesies

27.

Kitty cats and puppy dogs delight me

28.

History fascinates me, I like learning when certain events

started and the chain of events as things changed over time

29.

Favourite flowers include

pansies, peonies, roses, sweetpeas....

30.

Public speaking doesn't terrify me, 

but I have to be prepared ahead

* * *

31.

Don't ask me to speak off the cuff—I'll freeze

32.

I love Thai food, taco salads, grilled burgers with all the fixings,

turkey dinner especially the stuffing

33.

A favourite author is Louise Penny

34.

I'm not an artist, but I love art

35.

I lived in Venezuela for four months after college

36.
I don't drink pop

37.
I worked in a grocery store on weekends during high school

38.
England is my soul home

39.
I like crispy french fries with
gravy and ketchup

* * *

40.
I took a Victorian lampshade making class in the 1990s

41.
I used to sew my own clothes but I haven't
sewn anything in years

42.
I had a horror of bats as a child,
they don't scare me now

43.
My sister and I went to see Paul McCartney when he
came to Alberta a couple of years ago. We loved it!

44.
I had a doll named Joanne (after a girl I met in the hospital,
we were both getting our tonsils out)

45.
My greatest fear in school was flunking math;
I never did but I think my teachers took pity on me

46.
I like ironing pillowcases, but not shirts;
thankfully hubby does his own

47.

One of the first songs I ever loved (I was about six)

As I Live and Breathe as sung by Frank Verna

Decca Records, 1955

Just found a recording of that old song online! My goodness, Google has everything. Listening to it and I'm six years old again. I used to listen to it over and over—I could never get enough of it. Grooved into my brain, I still remember all the words. This piece of music was originally composed by Ernest De Curtis in 1902; its Neapolitan title was 'Torna a Surriento' which translates 'Come Back to Sorrento'.

* * *

Enough about me. Here's wishing

you a beautiful week ahead. Stay safe.

Heart Hugs,

Brenda

xox