Saturday, January 28, 2023

Things I May Or May Not Have Shared Before

~  I am shy and rarely talk in a social situation in which I'm not completely comfortable.
 
~  I have been married almost sixty years which cannot be possible since I still think I'm thirty-five. 
 
 ~  I am by definition an introvert.
 
~  I once witnessed a man commit suicide standing ten feet away from me.
 
~  I've never taken any recreational drugs or been intoxicated.  At least not that I can remember.
 
~  I have a couple of loose connections in my brain when it comes to working with numbers.   
 
~  I could live on potato chips and orange juice saving a little room for ice cream.
 
~  I love, love, love gardening but feel momentary panic when coming across a worm.
 
~  I was the tallest kid in my grade school, male or female, until the sixth grade.  Then never grew another fraction of an inch.
 
~  I've always wanted to be an Olympic downhill skier.  I fear it may be too late now.
 
Okay, I've spilled my beans.
How about you? 

16 comments:

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I loved this post! I am more on the introvert side as well, until I am comfortable. And of course, like you, I love gardening. Don't mind the worms if I'm wearing gloves! -Jenn

Mama Pea said...

Jenn - Surprised to know you feel yourself to be on the introvert side. You were such a successful teacher and I guess I equate that with being more out-going and extroverted. Although I always have to remember (and point out!) that neither an extrovert nor introvert is a bad thing! :o)

Rosalea said...

Well, this is interesting. Let's see. First point, pretty much the same here. Married 44 years. No drugs here either..one drink is my limit! I love numbers and math..and Mama Pea...math and geometry is a big part of quilting..(and knitting)...just sayin'. Sometimes I have a hankering for chocolate, but fresh green veg are my thing... especially now in the dead of winter. Agree totally on the gardening...and I go out after a rain and pick up all the worms that have been drowned out and put them in the garden beds. No Olympic dreams, but kinda wish I'd realized my interest in plants, birds and animals long ago...so I could have gone to university and studied that.

Mama Pea said...

Rosalea - Regarding the number thing, I know, I know. My husband (who is very good with numbers) constantly questions how I can quilt if I say I'm bad with numbers. You know the carpentry saying, "Measure twice, cut once?" Well, when quilting I have to measure 4 or 5 times and still end up cutting two or three times! Takes me that long to figure out where my whacky reasoning with numbers leads me astray. So agree about finally realizing now where our true interests lie and thinking about how great it would have been had we known much earlier what we know now! :o)

Michelle said...

I'm not sure I could come up with much of a list that I'm SURE I haven't shared before, at least in passing. BTW, mentioning 'in passing' about the close-proximity suicide kinda freaked me out. Seems like that could have left a llfetime of trauma – PTSD?

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - It wasn't as terrible as it might have been. (At least for me, but the man did die in the hospital three days later.) He was standing behind a half wall, the gun made only a popping sound, he fell to the ground, dropped the gun which skidded across the floor and landed at my feet. I instinctively kicked it away from the area. It was over before anyone knew what happened. Don't mean to make light of the incident, but I didn't actually see any of the gory details. Plus, my cousin was one of the policemen who arrived at the scene and he knew just what to say to me. And to the other people there.

Michelle said...

Well, that does put it in a different light. I'm glad it wasn't more horrible for you.

Leigh said...

Great post! Love the tidbit about the worms. Not sure I could fit all of my quirks into one post :o

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - Worms are in the same category for me as snakes . . . which are worse! If a snake scurries through the grass in front of me, I go straight up about two feet! And even though I know the snake moves away from me at lightning speed, my heart still pounds for minutes. Silly, huh? Last summer we had a family of garter snakes living under the wooden walkway right outside our back door. When I went out that door, I always stopped, looked carefully to see they weren't out sunbathing and then did an admirable broad jump of about four feet over the walkway and into the grass beyond! Come on, do go ahead and list your quirks in a post. If there are truly so many (how interesting!) you could do a series of posts! ;o)

Anonymous said...

I am with Leigh. Nicely presented. Mama Pea you are a quiet bag of tricks. And me thinks much more intelligent than you give yourself credit 💕

Goatldi

Anonymous said...

Mama Pea: A lot of my childhood was spent in a body cast followed by braces and corrective shoes. I was told by docs that I would not be able to do anything physically in my life. I was exempt from PT in schools as well. I was merciless taunted in school for being a "cripple" and, more than a few times, I was beaten up in the high school hallways for being different. Things greatly improved for me when I got out on my own. I met a wonderful college friend who taught me confidence and she literally showed me how to walk by taking me on my first hikes. (Uneven ground was scary!) Never in my wildest, youngest dreams would I dare to imagine that I could do what I can do today: homesteading with a big garden and enjoy long walks. Of course, I have more limitations than most folks thus I must respect my body especially as I age. For instance, I must use a hiking stick (ok, it's a cane) on icy parking lots in town. Morals of my story: 1. Question authority!--especially those who say "You can't...". 2. Be forever grateful for those compassionate, helpful people who point you towards a new way of life and offer a continuous example of how to be a decent human being. 3. And keep persevering, never quit trying! (Oh yeah, I'm an introvert too. I've quit trying so hard to be otherwise!) --M

tpals said...

Same on intoxication/drugs. Being around people exhausts me. I will stop the lawn mower and wait for toads and snakes to move out of the way.

Jennifer Jo said...

Love this list!

Mama Pea said...

Goatldi - Thanks, my friend. I do believe I'm intelligent. Just shy. (My light remains under the bushel basket much of the time.) But maybe I'll "outgrow" that one of these years!

Anonymous M - Does this mean I can still be an Olympic downhill skier??! ;o)

tpals - I once read that introverts get recharged by being by themselves, and extroverts get recharged by being around other people. Interesting, eh? Maybe all of us introverts should stand together and claim we are more well-adjusted in that we can be happy without the help of others. Uh-oh, now I've done it. I've just lost all the wonderful extroverts who read my blog. :o\

JJ - Thank you, thank you, you amazing, tremendously accomplished extrovert you! :o)

JustGail said...

- I'm definitely introverted. I may even be headed into recluse territory since I retired 2 1/2 years ago.
- Took me a while to realize demons can't be drowned in alcohol.
- I far preferred math to literature in school. At least I wasn't faced with trying to answer "what did the author mean?".
- It's grubs and wolf spiders that creep me out, though if/when those invasive jumping worms show up, I may add them to the list.
- I shriek and jump back, but when I realize it's a toad, snake or garden spider, I go back and take a close look.
- I really don't like the never-ending aspect of weeding, cleaning house, or cooking. It's not the actual tasks, but that they. are. never. done.

Mama Pea said...

JustGail - 1) You made me laugh on this one. 2) Good for you, girl! 3) Yep, give me concrete versus abstract. 4) Spiders don't bother me, grubs are just hateful, uglier worms! 5) I shriek, jump back and leave the area if it's a snake. 6) Phyllis Diller (remember her?) had a whole comedy routine talking about the never end tasks of a housewife listing all the things she had to do in a day's time like cooking, washing dishes, etc. . . . and then in a month or two had to start all over again. ;o)