Getting to know me, getting to know all about me ...

Last week, I started to break out of my blog-shell a bit. It's taken me, oh I don't know, about eight months of blogging to realize that a) bloggers like to be read, b) bloggers like comments, c) not all comments need to be perfect, clever or witty, and d) generally, if you comment on a blog, a blogger will comment back to you.

Encouraged by the comments to my blog-love post, I stepped out on a limb and volunteered for to be interviewed by Paige from The Avery Lane Experience. See below her thoughtful questions and my well-considered responses:


You invented motherhood. Are there any other inventions of yours we should know about? If so, what are they and what inspired you to create them?

One morning, I caught myself turning off the news before Jake might hear all of the terrible things that were being reported. I imagined myself creating a blog or web site collecting good news stories. Before I go into all the detail on how I was to become the clearinghouse for all worthwhile things happening on Earth, I'll cut to the chase. Google will give you 958,000,000 references to the same great idea.

My next brainstorm: a business. I have a girlfriend who is handy (I'm not), and I thought she could teach other women how to make home repairs (I'd figure out how to market and run the operation). Rather than hiring an expensive handy man or contractor, one of those know-it-all guys who makes you feel unskilled and powerless, you'd have a sympathetic woman teach you the basics of home repair. And I'd call it "Handy Ma'am." Another great idea, right? Yes, because it was a PBS show, that became a book featured on Oprah. (To my credit, I didn't know this. I was still working and not eating bon bons in front of the television every afternoon.)


In your blog title, you also ‘fess up to being an optimist. How do you manage to remain glass-half-full in a world that involves two children?

It's easy. My family is (knock on wood) happy and healthy. We have a roof over our heads and food on the table. I am grateful for every day. Half full or half empty, at least we have a glass.


Outside of your optimism, what are your most prominent personality traits? And which of your children seem to be developing those traits? Are there any traits you wish they wouldn’t develop?

I see a lot of myself in both kids, but more in Jake. He is thoughtful and sensitive. He is also tremendously stubborn and has a thing about always being right. Ellie is fiercely determined, and also very stubborn. So I guess I'm very stubborn. I am also loyal, caring and encouraging, and I love to see Ellie being enthusiastically supportive, saying things to me that I say to her. They are both a little bossy, as well as highly independent. It could be worse.


If Ellie would sleep in, tell us what you’d do for a night out on the town in that fabulous Nicole Miller dress of yours.

A world in which Ellie is a late sleeper is a kind of fairy tale land where we can afford to go out for exquisite tasting menus at the finest restaurants in town, chauffeured in a luxury car. In this magical world, copious amounts of champagne leave you feeling refreshed when you wake.


Where do you see yourself in five years, ten years, twenty years?

Let's see, in five years, the kids will be 7 and 9, and I'll be (gulp!) 41. I expect I'll have figured out how to work full-time while still being an active mom. In ten years, I'll be dealing with a preteen Ellie and Jake in puberty. In twenty years, Ellie will be finishing college and I imagine Jake will be in some kind of graduate program, designing super efficient trains, rocket ships or roller coasters.

I think it is a relevant observation to note here that I have no idea where I will be in the future, I can only imagine where my children will be. I expect that we will still live in this house, but it will be remodeled and have a very pretty yard. I think we we will have traveled more and raised our children to be confident and successful. While doing that, I will have unlocked the secrets to my own happiness and will still be deeply in love with my husband (who will have made millions playing poker).


Complete this sentence: Children who resist naps are... going to bed very early tonight!


Thank you for taking the time to get to know me, Paige! Is anyone up for an interview? I promise to be nosy, but not the least bit intrusive.

Update! Liz posted her interview responses at her new blog.

Another update! Ann posted her responses, too!