Five Questions

Alissa recently participated in a new interview meme and I thought I'd play along. Here's how it works: Alissa asks me five questions, which I have to answer here. Then I give you the opportunity to be interviewed by me. You have to answer my questions on your blog and include an offer to interview anyone who asks (five questions chosen by you). And so forth...

So these are Alissa's five questions and my answers:

1. How many brothers & sisters do you have, and what is your position in the birth order of the family? Do you believe birth order affects personality? I am the youngest of three and the only girl. I don't really think birth order had as much impact on who I am as being the only girl. I think I was treated differently and had different expectations of me because of my gender and this helped shape some of my personality. Of course, my brothers might beg to differ: I was famous for dramatically storming off to my room and slamming the door, and they did call me "supersensitive" when I was younger. I have outgrown it, though. Really. I have.

2. What would others say is your most annoying habit? Well, probably the storming off and slamming my door thing is right up there, except I don't do that anymore. Honestly, I don't really know what annoys people about me. I'm afraid to ask anyone but Paul. Now Paul would probably say the way won't accept a compliment or the way I spend money on things that aren't  important or significant (but that's a topic for another post--or for never), or the way I "put things away" and then forget where I put them (he calls it hiding things).

3. What is the big story you haven't written yet but will someday?  This one is hard. I have always felt that I have a story within me waiting to be told, but I've never been able to find exactly the story, my story. There is my Dad's story which I think is remarkable (he and his younger siblings were abandoned by his mother, left with an alcoholic bum of a father when my Dad was only about 10 years old). But I think that's really his story to tell, not mine. Paul's aunt once told me a story about her childhood I thought was amazing, but again, that's her story. I guess I'm still waiting for my story.

4. If you could be a superhero, what would your name be and what superpowers would you have? I know this is cheesy but I truly would want to be PerfectWoman. I would have the power to do everything right--say  and do just the right thing to/for my husband, children, and everyone around me. Keep my house spotless and beautifully decorated (although cozy and not ostentatious), cook delicious and nutritious meals every night, entertain friends with ease and grace, and take care of everyone's needs, feed their souls in such a way that they all have lives of beauty, peace, love, and joy. And they wouldn't even know that I did it. I would most definitely not get angry, resentful, and irritable with my children. I would most definitely not get pissed off that my husband left the closet doors open again, or his clothes on the floor again, or at his superpower ability to ignore the whining and constant questions and interruptions of small children. No, PerfectWoman would not be bothered by those things.

5. What gives you the most satisfaction in life? Like Alissa, I feel that I should say my kids here. Or my marriage. And while it's true that both give me great satisfaction along with the frustration, I think that it's crucial for me to find something outside of my family that fulfills me. Despite my desire to be PerfectWoman. I want to be PerfectWoman and just plain old Wesley, too. And plain old Wesley finds deep satisfaction in moments. Moments when I look out at the mountains and the trees and the sky or the ocean and all of God's world and feel connected to it all. Moments when I am doing something that takes all of my attention and engages every part of me (writing, photography, reading, creative things, sometimes even teaching). Moments when I am my best person, my higher self, my truest being.

So there you go, Alissa, my answers, right or wrong, good or bad.

If anyone else would like to participate, remember:

1. Leave a comment, saying "Interview me."

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to choose the questions.

3. Update your blog with the answers to my questions.

4. Include this explanation and offer to interview anyone who asks.

5. When someone asks to be interviewed, you will email them five questions of your choosing and they will answer on their blog.  And so on and so forth.