The Next Ten Things You Didn’t know About Me

So so serious. I am always feeling like I’m taking myself so seriously. So this Friday, I wanted to do a Soul Selfie of another sort. Secrets and stories. Who am I?

Whereas last time on my video lunchtime chat, I spoke about what it is to blog and why I do it, this time I want to talk about me, who and what I am.

Do that “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Me” kinda thing. Off the top of my head:

1. I have a ghost fear about swimming that I gave to my kid. So that I never empowered him to swim. I earned it honestly with several near drowning incidents as a kid. But this Summer was all about giving him the confidence to swim. And I succeeded!
2. Fiona my second baby at 46 was a “spontaneous” conception. There was no fertility help. I just began to worry that I was going to have to throw a wake for my fertility soon and I hedged my bets. Had no idea that there were tests to take. I just willed her into being.
3. I was past 40 before I started to write and publish my essays on-line. 45 when I started to blog. I’m a believer in Late Blooming.
4. I was a DIY-aholic when we bought this house. For a whole year it was all I did. I redid every room in this house before I stopped when I had kids. Only their rooms were done since. And recently, I’ve been reminded that I love it so much, I may need to start it up again to fulfill that part of my creativity needs.
   
5. It took me 6 1/2 years to matriculate from the University. I skipped my last year of the all girls high school I was in and went to college. There were boys there with fancy haircuts and suntans. I worked the entire time and took a semester off and one part-time semester. My very last semester had me needing one credit in any upper level course so I took poetry. I memorized a Wordsworth poem.
   
6. In my other life, I’d be an interior designer. See number 4. Were I to go back to school, that would be it. Set design too. Ooh La La.
7. I suck at roller skating and ice skating. I’m a very athletic person, good at any sport you put me to doing. Except those.
8. I had orthroscopic surgery inside my left shoulder to remove extra bone almost 20 years ago. Only surgery ever. And a shot recently in my left SI joint (near hip) to reduce pain from a bone spur tells me there’s more orthroscopic surgery in my future. That was in February. I just finished paying that off.
   
9. Which brings me to the biggest secret of the year. We are now are covered under the government health insurance. We make little enough to have the government subsidize our health. We were paying $550 a month and now we’re not starting last May. I had Fiona with the government’s help, thank you US GOV. And our children have always been covered by their health program, I’d just never had them run our income for us. This subject was one I touched on when Fiona was in my belly in this piece and gave me my very first taste of hate mail and troll comments on the blog. A bit of an eye-opener for the very sensitive pregnant lady.
10. And because I need one more, Number Ten !!! I have written 850 posts, I’m about to turn 50, and I never really lost that ten pounds permanently. And it doesn’t make me a bad person !!!
    

If you have actually stuck around to read this last one, you are the lucky winner of my undying admiration and devotion. If you are on Facebook, take a moment to pop over to my Shalavee Facebook page and see my videotaped self in live to recorded action. Like the page, take a look at the other videos. Something. Wednesday is another post day. Talk at you then.

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