As the blog gets more followers, I’ve been going back and reading some of my older posts.
I find it fascinating, at times, to see where I was then with where I am today.
Yet, in many areas, it’s interesting to see that as much as things change, they also stay the same.
So, I thought it might be fun to do a Then and Now post for you, where I take an old post and update it with how I would have written it, were I writing it today.
To begin the process, I’m taking you back to September 2009, where I decided to answer 20 questions for you, the readers.
In 2009, I was a 37 year old mother of a 7 year old girl, a 4 year old boy, and a 2 year old boy.
Tiny wasn’t even a twinkle in my eye.
Scratch that…Tiny was the furthest thing from a twinkle in my eye because I was feeling overwhelmed with just three kids.
I was the Instructional Leader for Math and Science at my middle school, and was teaching piano lessons after school.
I had been blogging for a month, and not too many people had read anything I had ever written.
Today, I’m a 43 year old mother of a 13 year old girl, and 10, 8, and 3 year old boys.
Most days, Tiny is the one who actually puts the twinkle in my eye.
I’m the Supervisor in charge of Language Arts, Social Studies, and Technology in my middle school, and am still teaching piano after school and on the weekends.
I’ve been blogging for six years, have been published in an anthology, on the Huffington Post, was a semi-finalist in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel of the Year contest, and write for my author’s group as often as we can meet.
It’s been a good six years.
So, click back to that old post and then let’s take a look at some of these questions and see what else has changed:
1. Show us the inside of something cute.
I didn’t get this question in 2009 and I don’t get it today.
The inside of something cute?
So, ruin the cute thing by cutting it open?
Yeah, no, I don’t think so.
2. What’s the last home cooking you had?
As I write this, the last home cooking I had was the taco dinner that I made for the family last night.
I make dinner pretty much every night, for the family, so this one hasn’t really changed too much.
3. What do you miss?
What do I miss?
These girls:
So much.
It’s been too long, and I can’t wait to get together and just hang out with my girls, again.
4. What makes you laugh often?
Tiny.
He’s ridiculous.
He’s trying out new words all the time and sometimes he uses them correctly, and sometimes he doesn’t.
He’s been enjoying the snow and it’s a blast to watch him slide down the hill and then carry his little board back up.
He gets to the top and yells, “Again!” and flops down and slides right back down again.
He sneezes and yells “Boogers!” and expects me to run after him with a tissue, and if you don’t get there fast enough, then he just uses his sleeve.
Or the sleeve of the person nearest to him.
Tiny is a 3 year old with more personality that you can imagine and he makes me laugh every single day.
5. What’s your favorite word?
Kindness.
Kind is all I want my kids to be, and I find myself looking for kindness everywhere.
When I see my kids being kind to each other, I point it out, celebrate it, and reward it.
I try to model it, but know that, often, I fall short.
Kindness.
We all could use a little more of it in our lives.
6. What are you trying to quit?
Biting the inside of my mouth.
Since I was a kid, it’s been what I do.
There are probably a million photos of me with my mouth contorted mid-face bite.
I always figured it was just a bad habit like nail biting, etc, but recently, I’ve noticed the stakes are a little higher on this one.
I’m getting some weird wrinkles around my mouth that seem to fit, exactly, the shape I make when I’m biting the inside of my mouth. So, I gotta quit.
7. What’s your favorite commercial, right now?
Ooh, those Matthew McConaughay Lincoln commercials!
No, no…I kid.
I’m actually really enjoying the Rob Lowe commercials for Direct TV.
These may be regional…I’m not sure, but I think they are creative and funny.
Not hilarious…more cheesy and “Oh, Rob Lowe, how far you’ve fallen,” but I look forward to seeing a new one when it comes out.
Check this one out.
8. Whose style do you dig?
I still dig Jennifer Garner’s style, but these days, I am loving Kristen Bell.
And Dax Shepard.
There really isn’t anything I don’t like about these two.
I saw them interviewed on a show where they were discussing paparazzi laying off of the children of celebrities and thought they made their case so eloquently and clearly.
I loved their commercials over the holidays.
I believe I’ve shared my Veronica Mars love before, so I don’t need to go there.
I just like them as people, as a couple, as parents, as celebrities, and so I feel pretty confident in my answer that I dig their style.
9. Link to a great blog you’ve discovered recently.
I haven’t discovered it recently, but one of my favorite blogs is Bad Parenting Moments, written by my friend and co-author, Bethany.
She is often funny, but more often, she is honest and frank, and she writes about things that others are too afraid to write about, and makes me say “Yes…exactly,” every time.
Please check her out.
I know you won’t regret it.
10. What’s the last craft you made?
Ahahahahahahahahahaha!
That’s just hilarious.
Craft.
Me.
Monkey Boy is the crafty guy around here and spends most of his time making things out of construction paper and tape, but his Mama isn’t the crafty type.
11. A photo of the last “happy” mail you received.
The last piece of happy mail that came to our house is a letter accepting Monkey Girl into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Academy at the high school.
It seems to be what she wants, so we are happy for her.
Right now, she wants to either be a veterinarian or an architect, and she feels this is the best way to get there.
Proud of her for going for it.
12. Something you’ve got lately.
I didn’t really understand this question six years ago, and still don’t “get” it, today.
So, “this question” is not my answer.
13. What are you looking forward to?
What am I looking forward to?
I’ll tell you what I’m looking forward to.
Monkey Girl and I auditioned, back in December, and they whittled down the performers from 70 acts to 16, and we made the cut.
We are thrilled beyond belief, and completely nervous, and very, very excited.
We can’t wait for February 25!
14. Post a recent snapshot of yourself.
Did you see the picture from 2009?
I had such long hair!
I still drove the minivan!
I loved that leather jacket!
Anyway…here I am, today, with Monkey Boy:
15. Recent Favorite Movie?
Into the Woods
Hands down.
It was amazing.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again.
The audience applauded when it was over.
I’m a sucker for a musical, and this was absolutely no exception.
16. Something you’re working on right now?
My author’s group met last week and I shared a short fiction piece I had written.
They gave me excellent feedback and I’m working on revising it so that I can figure out what I want to do with it.
Maybe I’ll share it with you!
17. If a movie were made about you, who would play you?
It’s still Reese Witherspoon.
Six years later, and I continue to get stopped in stores and told that I look like her.
The older I get, the less I see it, but I’ll take it, because I think she’s a cutie.
18. What gives you goosebumps?
Broadway.
Monkey Girl and I saw “Mamma Mia” last night and it was amazing.
I’d seen it before, but it doesn’t matter how many times I see a show on Broadway (Les Mis…6 times) it gives me goosebumps.
Call it a dream unrealized, call it being unbelievably impressed with the talent, call it the wow factor, but Broadway gives me goosebumps and I realized, last night, that I don’t get there nearly enough.
19. Share a new obsession.
My latest obsession is getting Monkey Girl to watch old shows with me.
She didn’t go for Gilmore Girls, so I almost had to disown her.
However, she seems to be hooked on the original Beverly Hills, 90210, so, we’re good.
Although, she has been watching an inordinate amount of Saved By the Bell, so I am a little concerned about her taste.
But only a little.
Because, Zach Morris.
20. What’s the meaning of your life?
To positively influence other’s lives.
I just want to make sure that I don’t leave a negative impact on the world and that I leave the world a better place than I found it; whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
If this was everyone’s goal…oh, what a world it could be.
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