Hodgepodge and Hiding Spots

Let's jump right in!

1. Aloha! On August 21, 1959 Hawaii officially became a US state. Have you ever been? Upon arrival would you prefer an orchid or a hibiscus to tuck behind your ear?

Hibiscus.  It's one of the most memorable flowers, quite symbolic of  a vacation in Hawaii. Not that I'd know.

2. Since we're talking tropical...what's your favorite food or beverage made with pineapple?

Pineapple ranks up there among my five favorite foods. I like it plain, with cottage cheese, on a salad, in a variety of entrees. I like it on  a train, in a bus, or on a boat....But I'll say pineapple upside down cake is just about my favorite way to eat the glorious fruit.

3. Do you believe in soul mates? Explain.

Yes.  Soulmates know each other at their best and at their worst and love each other. come what may.  I could explain more, but I didn't get enough sleep last night.  My soulmate started snoring while I was still awake, and I also had a hard time turning my brain off.

4. Share a memory about the house you grew up in.

Well, I lived in 13 houses by the age of 11 (my parents loved to move), so I'll pick a house with some of the best memories I have.  We lived in the parsonage in a little town in Kansas when I was in 3rd and 4th grade.  My dad pastored the Methodist church.  Each floor made a complete loop of adjoining rooms. On the first floor, one would enter  the house most commonly through the back door-- the kitchen door--, turn right into the dining room, keep going into the living room, hang a left through the bifold doors into the family room and then make a sharp left through an entrance to a teeny tiny, dark hall that we called The Secret Passageway. Only the file cabinet was stored there; the hall was otherwise clear, so we used it often to get from the family room into the 3/4 bathroom. 

I don't know if the shower stall had plumbing issues or what, but we never used it. My parents kept a stack of moving boxes  in there (full and sturdy),  and simply pulled a shower curtain across. It made a great hiding place for unsightly boxes .  Naturally that meant it was also a popular refuge for a child playing Hide 'n Seek.

One day (probably a Monday during a winter vacation when we couldn't play outside and the day my dad was always off)  we girls and our two friends, Cherie and Brenda, started a game of Hide 'n Seek in the house. My older sister was It.  The three of us hiders scattered, and Cherie ended up sitting up on the stack of boxes in the shower stall, curtain pulled. She could peek over if need be, or duck down out of sight.

My dad, who is such a thinker that he gets rather absorbed and focused on something in his mind, tends to be aloof about his surroundings at times. He went into the 3/4 bathroom, locked the doors between the kitchen and the Secret Passageway, and began to use the toilet.

Cherie heard everything. The doors closing, the seat being lifted, the pee being peed, the lid being closed, the toilet being flushed, the hands being washed and dried, the doors being unlocked, the preacher walking out of the bathroom. She was so mortified that she had witnessed the whole thing with her ears from her perch on the boxes, as she stayed ducked down behind the shower curtain. She stifled every urge to giggle or gasp for the duration of the natural episode. 

We didn't tell my dad for years, and when we finally did, he laughed till he cried. 

5. Are you comfortable with silence?

Depends.  I have to have silence in order to fall asleep at night, and I love silence when I'm trying to read or concentrate.   But there are certain silences that disturb my soul to recall. The silence of the

sonogram technician as she moves the wand around my pregnant belly trying to find a heartbeat.

The silence of children who have gotten into mischief.  The silence when I've called a child who doesn't come to me in a big department store.

6. You spot a giant spider on your bedroom wall...what's your next move? (all spiders are giant, right?)

First move is  not a move. It's a freeze position, accompanied by a muffled scream. If I think that my attack will result in a sure kill with hubby's tennis shoe, I would grab that. If not, I would grab hubby himself  and call upon his chivalry.  If the spider is hairy, he gets the shoe regardless of size. In  a pinch, I will grab a massive wad of paper towels, hold my breath, and pounce on him, squeezing the spidery life right out of him,without apology to anyone who might think I just smashed their great grandfather.

7. My idea of fun does NOT include ______________.

noisy crowds, heights, spinning around, or the possibility of death 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am thoroughly enjoying my daughter fix up her new classroom. If she blogs, I will link so you can see for yourself and imagine being in a 1st grader's shoes.