Confession: I love those getting to know you questionnaire, tag games, roving emails. I just can't help myself. I love reading what other people say, and I love filling them out myself. First off, I love discovering that new piece of quirky information that just wouldn't come up in typical conversation.
"Oh, you once ate a live goldfish while dancing the mamba?" Interesting.
Second, I love having to figure out my own answers. There are moments in our lives that are natural to share, and therefore always at the front of our minds. And there are those moments that don't fit in any socially natural box, they just are too obscure or bizarre to have an open forum. These tend to turn into the moments we cherish in someway, that we only share in those magical moments of unexpected confessions. They often define us, or show an aspect of our character that hasn't really gotten a chance to shine. After confessing these, and hearing them confessed, you usually walk away with a smile on your face and a belly exhausted from laughter.
What's not to love about that?
My friend Jen has recently opened up the door to those type of moments for me. I have been tagged. Here are seven interesting (that is debatable) things you may never have known about me:
1. When I was younger, I honestly believed that I was related to Bert from Bert and Ernie. It made perfect sense to me because I believed everyone was named after someone in their family, this obvious logic stemming from the fact that I was named after my Uncle Dan and Aunt Sherry. My dad's middle name is Bert. I had never met any other Bert's besides the famous one on PBS. Therefore, I must be related to a Muppet.
2. Also, when I was younger, I had a terrible fear of dying in my sleep. Each night I would tell my parents that I loved them and would see them in the morning. Then, during my nightly prayers, I would explain to God that I could not die tonight because I had told my parents I would see them tomorrow. I didn't think God wanted to disappoint two such nice people as Ron and Jan.
3. One of my biggest heart regrets is not driving from Moscow to Nampa, Idaho with my family after my sister's senior show at U of I. I flew to Boise instead, anxious to resume life at my college. My grandfather died in a car wreck a few weeks later; that was the last chance I had to talk, laugh, and be with him. It's something I don't like to think about much, but it seems to consume me at times when I least expect it.
4. I tried to conquer my fear of heights by paragliding off of the coast of Ecuador. It was one of the most peaceful and exhilarating experiences I've had.
5. Something I'm pretty proud of myself for doing is backpacking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. For a girl who had never been camping until she was married, let only never been backpacking, that was quite an achievement.
6. The best road-trip that Dave and I have been on was when we flipped a coin to see which exit, north or south, we would take. Not just once, but every time we came to a major exit. This was a major thing for my type A husband. We went on a trip...without a plan. I'm surprised he survived to tell the tale.
7. I was the pitcher for my tee-ball team. Yeah, you read that right. My job was to throw an imaginary ball. I played a fake position and I still repeatedly got beamed in the head.
And now I tag seven new people; lucky winners listed below. What juicy bits of forgotten life experience can you share?