It has been a few weeks since the dear @jasonbu invited me to participate in the Ten Random Things challenge. A combination of being wacky crazy busy and being a fairly private person have prevented me from getting ‘er done. But here are my 10 random things, in no particular order.
Thing 1: I don’t like talking about myself
Ask me to do the dishes, rake the yard, clean up dog poop, take a sharp poke in the eye. Anything. I’d rather not talk about me, thank you very much. Oh, I have nothing to hide. I am not sure I can explain it. Perhaps I believe in my heart that I have nothing to show.
Thing 2: I am a peacekeeper
I try to do my little part to create peace in the world. Whenever confrontation happens, I provide the damper, the levity, the calming words, or whatever seems necessary. Sometimes it’s just a warm smile and the words, “It’s okay.”
And very often — particularly on social media and on Steemit — I just walk away. I simply don’t believe in going head-to-head with others. It is not my way, and I believe that I can make more of a difference in the world by remaining calm and level-headed. While there is no excuse for bad behavior, and I have no qualms about telling someone they’re out of line, I also believe that people who are being jerks are often dealing with their own personal pain, and I have no need to engage with them confrontationally or contribute to the damage.
Thing 3: I have three kids from two pregnancies
Yes, that means two of them are twins. This is a 14-year old picture, but it’s one of my favorites of me and my children.
They are nearly all grown up now. My oldest daughter is graduating from the University of Minnesota at the end of this school year, and the twins are graduating from high school. It’s a big year. My family is the light of my life. I hope as my kids grow up and go out on their own, they will stay near. But I will support them in whatever choices they make. (Or at least that is what I tell myself.)
Thing 4: My superpower is the ability to do more than seems humanly possible
See, this is why I don’t like talking about myself. It all sounds like bragging. I have had people tell me that they feel tired just hearing about all the things I do. Sorry/not sorry!
I work 50 to 60 hours a week in my full-time job (high tech marketing), keep a household containing a family of five and an insane menagerie of pets somewhat tidy and organized, volunteer my time, attempt to exercise fairly regularly, read at least two books a month and participate in two book clubs as well as a women’s group (which includes my sister, the lovely @ducksaplenty) in which we do home projects, and a Friday night game night group. I also write fiction, participate in several writing groups, and run a weekly 50-word writing challenge (#fiftywords).
This weekend was a prime example. Friday night I went to the high school football game with my husband and parent friends. Our daughters work on the sidelines. They were honored as senior students for their hours of service, and we got to parade across the football field with them. I also had house guests staying with us, I volunteered at a fundraising gala Saturday night for an organization called Matter), I helped another writer with a story, and wrote a short story to submit to a literary writing contest. I’m also writing this post and my 50-word short story post.
Life is a zoo, at times, but I wouldn’t trade this craziness for anything.
Thing 5: I believe reading and writing enable us to live multiple lives
If you’ve stuck with me this far, thank you! Here’s what I mean by this. Since I was a young girl, I’ve felt that life is too short, a belief that perhaps traces back to a tragic death in our extended family when I was very young. This belief has affected my life in multiple ways (see Thing 4), but in my adult life I have found calm through reading books and writing stories. In reality, I know I can only live this one life. But through literature and writing, I believe I can live many.
Now that the kids are mostly grown up, I am devoting more time to writing, with the hope that I will finally break into mainstream publishing.
Thing 6: I used to be a distance cyclist
I have had a lifelong love of bike riding. As a teen and young adult, it was my therapy. Later, during my years in Silicon Valley, I was in a relationship with an avid cyclist who encouraged (pushed) me to work harder at it. We did some week-long mountain biking treks with all of our food and supplies attached to our bikes. We regularly rode 50 to 75 mile rides, and to prepare for our longest stints, we did 100 to 120-mile training rides. Over several years, we rode three double centuries (200 miles in a day).
Thing 7: I love to travel
I believe travel challenges us to expand our minds, and relinquish our myopic self-serving tendencies. It reminds us that we are part of something greater. I’ve done some of my best thinking and writing while in a car, or on a train or plane.
My kids love to travel too, and have all gone on many trips with our family as well as with student groups and friends. We instilled in them a love of travel from an early age.
I grew up in a family with little means, but we loved to take long road trips. I never got on a plane until college, when I went on an overseas trip for six months to Greece. The following year I took a student trip to Mexico. The year after that I took a cross-country trip with a group of people from Oregon to southern California, to New York to Florida where we sailed to the Bahamas, then drove north again where I said goodbye in Washington D.C. It was epic. I’ve since taken trips to Italy and to Spain, among many domestic trips.
I recently won a ticket to Steemfest (with this short story), and will be traveling next month to Krakow. I will be attending a technical conference the following week in Munich, and I was able to stitch the two trips together, so it will be another epic journey. I’m so excited!
Thing 8: I’m a distant relative of a famous guy
Evidently, I’m related to Zebulon Pike, an explorer who traveled extensively here in Minnesota and long ago owned the land that is now known as St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis. Zebulon was also the founder of Pike’s Peak in Colorado. My maiden name is Pike. My father always said that Zebulon was his great-great-great uncle, and that he was my great-great-great-great uncle. I am now in the process of trying to trace this history and connect the dots, via Ancestry.com. It is proving to be more difficult and time-consuming than I expected.
Thing 8 ½ is that the Pike name is dying out on my family line. My father was the only boy in a family of 5 children. He also had five children and only one son (my brother) as well as my three sisters and myself. My brother, now in his 60s, never married or sired children. So the Pike name in this line is done. I plan to trace other family lines through my father’s father on Ancestry.com.
Thing 9: I love baseball and softball
Maybe it’s because my kids have always played. I’ve spent hundreds of hours watching their games while swaddled in blankets in inclement weather, on pleasant summer evenings under the lights, in extreme heat, and with thunderheads amassing on the horizon. No matter, I love to be in the bleachers, rooting for my team, thrilled at monster hits and great plays. But I also love professional baseball, and enjoy the occasional Minnesota Twins game.
Thing 10: My husband is my rock
I’m not sure where I’d be in my life right now without this guy. As we traverse this life journey, we come to so many forks in the road, and it’s not easy to make the right choices. I left an abusive relationship because I met Steve and he was so solid and stable and kind, and it gave me hope that life could be more than just an existence that we trod through to get to some unknown end. I’ve had a lot of recovery to do over the years from events and relationships of the past. He has stuck by me through it all, and has been an amazing dad to boot. I really lucked out. Thank you, Fate. Or the gods of love and happenstance. Or the Universe. Or the Supreme Being. I suppose thing 10 ½ is that I am spiritual and yet agnostic.
Hey, thanks for reading. Why do we do these things? Perhaps it is just as much about looking through a lens of discovery about ourselves, as it is about sharing something with the rest of the world.
Oh! And my nominations for those who should take up the torch and carry it forth in this fun challenge are @negativer and @tanglebranch.
Much love,
