Wednesday 15 July 2020

July 15, 2020

'Tis mid-July and another wonderful day on the way. I just grabbed two eggs out of the chicken coop, there are bright yellow flowers on my pumpkin plants, and it's my birthday. 


That makes me a cancer. I think the first two sentences of the image, above, pretty much describe me. I do not have a poker face. I found out that my co-workers enjoy just watching my face during a staff meeting. I don't hide my emotions well. The rest of the description is pretty accurate as well. I am a private person who needs to "detox" after being around too many people or people who create drama or confrontation. I'm fine with my class, however. I am having a low-key birthday (well, that's the only kind you can have during these times). I even find birthday phone calls awkward. I do not like attention focused directly at me.


Everyone in my family knows that I absolutely despise the idea of telling the wait staff at the restaurant that it is my birthday so they can all gather around and sing and clap. It has never happened, thank goodness. I even feel awkward when it's someone else's birthday and I'm watching the whole thing unfold. 

So, I decided to choose 10 questions to answer from a list of "371 Random Get to Know Me" questions I found on the internet. Maybe if you are stuck for ideas for a blog post, you can do something similar.

1. Are you a dog or a cat person?  
Although we had a dog when I was growing up and she was wonderful, I am more of a cat person. I've rarely been without a cat in my life. Sometimes we have had more than one. Also, cats are easier to keep than dogs because you can go away for a weekend and set out enough food and water and they'll be fine.

2.  What was your favourite subject in high school?
I always loved English. I loved the discussions, the analysis of what we were reading, the discovery of a new book that I enjoyed... I loved the writing aspect of it, even most of the teachers were very engaging. 

3. Are you more likely to avoid conflict or engage in it head on?
Avoid!! I will feel physically ill if I think that I'm about to have to deal with a confrontation, angry parent, family blow-up... 

4. If you had more courage, what would you do differently in your life now?
I think there are two areas to address here. I think I might have chosen to pursue writing of some sort and see if I was any good at that. I still have ideas about a series of books directed toward boys who have some difficulty reading. 
The second thing, I wish I hadn't been so afraid of looking foolish or not being good enough or hurting myself at certain activities when I was a younger adult. I think I missed out on some fun times due to my fears regarding things like skiing, skating, (yes, I am aware I'm Canadian), rafting, rollercoasters...

5. Do you have a tattoo?
No. Not my thing.

6. What scares you about aging?
My mother suffered from dementia / alzheimers and my mother-in-law has dementia. I remember my grandfather (this is one of my earliest memories that has stuck with me) in the farmhouse asking about the team and hitching them up (i.e. horses) and my grandmother chiding him and correcting him and explaining him away to me in a rather nasty way (they hadn't farmed with horses for years and years and years). So I hope and pray that I do not end up in a similar way, especially if everything physically is pretty good, but it's just your mind that is slowly deteriorating.

7. Have you ever suffered a fracture?
I have never broken any big bones like arms or legs, but I have had broken bones in my foot and broken toes before. The bones in my foot happened on a New Year's Eve on the dance floor of a bar in the university town where I was living. A girl ran across the dance floor and managed to stomp on the top of the foot with her high heel, and I was also in high heels. The pain was immediate and I still had to get home. I never saw a doctor about it because I had always heard "they don't really do anything for broken bones in your feet anyway". I couldn't really even stuff my foot in a shoe for days and days afterward.

8. What kind of car do you drive?
A Toyota Rav-4. I love an SUV because I like being higher up off the road and I love the security of all-wheel or four-wheel drive. 

9. Do you love your job?
For the most part, yes. I love the act of teaching, I love those special, funny, ah-ha moments with students, I love the co-workers with whom I work, I love shutting my classroom door and doing my own thing. There are, of course, aspects of my job that I could gladly eliminate.

10. Are you named after anyone?
No. Yet, my three older siblings have middle names that are parents / uncles names. I guess by the time they got to me, they couldn't be bothered??

So there you have it. There will be pizza and cake and drinks in the pool later today with husband, daughter and her long-time beau, and son. It doesn't get better than that.


26 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday! Have a wonderful celebration with your family! Interesting facts about yourself -- thanks for sharing!

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  2. I enjoyed this post Jenn. I am typical of my star sign too, not Cancer but one slightly more fiery! Perhaps when you stop working you will be able to give your writing ideas a try. Happy Birthday!

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  3. Happy birthday, Jen. Kronia polla. Enjoy your family, and the pool. Woohoo for summer.

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  4. Happy Birthday. Did you also get to know yourself better by answering any of the 371 questions you didn't post up here? Just curious. You are right perhaps we should all give it a go.

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  5. Happy Birthday, Jenn! Boldog Szuletesnap in Hungarian...Have a very happy special day!
    I am just slightly introverted, but enough so that I have to get away from large groups fairly quickly. All my kids are to. Responding to your comments: 1, a dog person who now has no dog. 2.English and art. 3. AVOID conflict unless I have no choice. 4. I think you should do some of that writing. "It's never to late to be the person you were meant to be". 5. NO TATOOS! 6. Dementia is a fear. 7. No broken bones. 8. Subaru Outback. 9. Don't really have a job and did not for nearly 50 years. It was never a career. 10. Not named after anyone.

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  6. Happy Birthday! and I wanted to add that you ARE a writer - your blog is proof!

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  7. Great answers. I also hate the b-day serenades. One does get a free dessert, but not worth it. Last one was a cupcake mounted with blue icing.

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  8. A very happy birthday to you! I agree that you already are a writer because of the posts of yours that we all look forward to. Maybe when you do retire, you'll have more time to devote to your writing in whatever way you wish. My daughter was born under the same astrological sign and fits the little profile you put up, too.

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  9. I'll remember this for one of those posts when there's nothing else to post. It was fun learning more about you (and so much is a lot like me, so no wonder I love your blog so much!)

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope your safe party is a good one and that you are feted with great joy, festivities and your favorite ice cream, cake or treats!

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  10. I am totally with you about waiters gathering round and singing Happy Birthday - I hate it. Luckily my friends and relations know this.

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  11. Hope you had a lovely day with your family.

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  12. Happy Birthday! Enjoy your day with the family.

    Friends once surprised me with the singing of Happy Birthday at a restaurant; I was mortified. I resolved then never to spend my birthday with anyone else and never away from home.

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  13. Happy Birthday Jenn! It sounds like you've a very carefree day ahead with no fear of complete strangers singing at you! ... Feet, hey, so many little bones & easy to break.

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  14. Sounds like the perfect birthday to me. Especially the kitty part.

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  15. What a wonderful post! The happiest of birthdays to you, and my very best wishes for the coming year. This from a dog person who also likes cats pretty well.

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  16. Happy Birthday. Have a great day with your family and keep on writing!

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  17. Happy Birthday Jenn. Wishing you you another enjoyable 365 day trip around the sun. ... Mary-Lou =^[..]^=

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  18. Happy Birthday to you. I hope your special day was full of love and happiness. Hugs, Edna B.

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  19. Happy Birthday! Hope it's a good one!

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  20. Happy Belated Birthday, Jenn! I am a Capricorn, but I was agreeing with every one of the Cancer descriptions. I hope you had a lovely, quiet birthday.

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  21. Thank you, everybody. I had a lovely time, bobbing around in the pool and drinking (sharing) my bottle gift of red wine. The best part was listening to daughter and boyfriend having a laugh and chatting with son and girlfriend. They're all great "kids", although not really kids anymore. Cake was tremendously rich and decadent!

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  22. Belated happy birthday! And/but, I love the restaurant birthday celebrations! (sorry/not. LOL)

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  23. Don’t know how you can go away for a weekend and leave cats. I guess it depends on the relationship you have with the cats.

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