About once a month, I take a moment to introduce myself. Social media platforms are funny places to try to make meaningful connections, but, hopefully, these introductions offer a little window into who I am. For today, two serious and three fun facts about me:
- I am a truth-teller. (This is the serious one.) So this means I often don’t get the joke and rarely use sarcasm. I write books and articles and speak about faith, family, disability, and culture. Lots of people read my books and their response is, “You are just so honest!” and I’m not sure if they mean it as a compliment.
- I care about honoring people. Sometimes fact #1 and fact #2 seem to contradict each other. How do I tell the truth about the not-so-fun stuff of parenting teenagers without betraying my kids? How do I narrate the hard aspects of my family of origin and still honor my parents? Sometimes the Instagram feed makes my life look shiny and glorious. Some parts of it are. And others are pretty dingy and banged up. I don’t get to show you that part most of the time so please remember—and help me remember—that this is only part of the story. Now on to the fun stuff. (Or at least, the less serious stuff. Please remember point number 1.)
- I am a professional winker. Not really. But I can wink one eye at a time in rapid succession in a way that impresses my husband and children.
- I used to be addicted to Diet Coke. In college, I drank a six-pack a day. By my 30s I had weaned down to 2-3 of the small cans, but there came a day when I just needed to be done. I still drink an unconscionable amount of black tea.
- I don’t really like sitting in the sun. It took me a few decades to realize that I enjoy a hike in the woods more than a day at the beach and that I only enjoy getting my body immersed in water when it is 85 degrees or hotter AND the water is above 75 degrees. (This last family trip to the Connecticut shore involved our kids swimming every single day and me never even putting on a bathing suit!)
How about you? What’s a habit you gave up or an unusual and inconsequential ability you have?
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