Wednesday, April 16, 2008

A fun tag

I was tagged by Tara B to come up with 7 random or weird facts about myself. Here goes.

1) One of my favourite ways of getting imagination flowing is to take a drive, preferably at night, and listen to music. I'm lucky enough to have plenty of country roads near my house. It's a cosy way to wind down and also get some new ideas for books. Relaxing and writing are two of my favourite things so when I get to do them together it's a bonus.

2) Some things drive me crazy. I hate the noise of fingernails being run down a blackboard. I also hate the sound of a knife being cut into the bottom of a china plate. In fact just typing these things puts my teeth on edge.

3) I sometimes find myself getting a bit annoyed by common things people say. A prime example is hearing adults such as teachers or shop workers calling children, "Darling" or "Sweetie," especially in a stern way. When I was a little girl and people said it to me, I used to think it sounded so phony. My own children have noticed recent examples. A lady doing a puppet show at the library told a little girl, "Move back with the others, Sweetie, I'll be walking there." And an assistant at K-Mart told a little boy who was asking for help finding car toys, "You'll have to ask someone else, Darling!" I understand they mean it to sound kind and friendly, but it still smacks of condescension to me. Not many people use it with adults, after all.

4) Since reading a particular book by Joyce Meyer, I've also been sensitive lately to people saying "Oh My God!" In her book, she said that it's really accidental profanity when people say this. If they realised how they're watering down the power of this Name by using it so freely for pointless little things, they'd be far more careful. After reading that, I've noticed it everywhere! People even shorten it to OMG. TV sitcoms are rife with it. A well-known lady Adelaide news presenter said it last year on TV when she saw Santa Claus coming to the pageant in front of all the kids. I think it's a bit of a worry, actually.

5) I like Turkish Delight chocolate.

6) I think we mess our kids minds up when we teach them not to show off, shush them when they yell, 'I'm the best at this!', instill modesty in them, and then expect them to go out as adults and sell themselves to the big wide world! This occurred to me earlier this week when my daughter was playing with a little Bob the Builder toy truck that says, "I can fix it!" She said, "He's showing off," and I replied, "No, he's just advertising himself. That's different." Then I thought, "Aha, how are they supposed to know it's different?" Much better to praise them and make them aware of their gifts and talents in those very early years.

7) I need to read my Bible lots. I accept every word in it as the truth and claim it for myself. I've worked out that's like medicine. It's the only way I keep on top of things, because I'm a bit of a stress-head when I neglect this.

There, this has turned out to be a bit of a philosophical soapbox, but hey, that's what tags can be all about. I've been asked to hand the baton on to others, but I'll just leave this one open and say I'd be interested to read the blogs of anyone who takes it up.

4 comments:

  1. That's a very interesting comment in #6. I'm hopeless at "selling myself" - I had heaps of confidence in myself as a kid, but somewhere along the line it's disappeared. Makes you think..

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  2. I think you are on to something. Perhaps the meaning of modesty has become somewhat skewed over the years. Usually when children talk of what they can do, it is not out of boastfulness. Boasting implies wanting to make someone feel inferior. Children tend to simply be full of excitement and happiness over their accomplishment.

    I've already done the random thread this month. Maybe some other time!

    Peace and Laughter,
    Cristina

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  3. what an interesting list! the showing off thing is a very good point!

    I can also relate to the oh my god thing. we try really hard not to say such things, but it does slip out occasionally when I'm not thinking. Thankfully, we have the kids trained to recognize it and not say it themselves. In fact, they catch me when I say it!

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  4. I didn't think Turkish Delight was a real thing! I heard of it years ago somewhere, perhaps on some British TV series, but that's all I know. Interesting!

    I have thought about that boasting issue as well, in a similar situation. Glad you mentioned this issue!

    You are right about using the Lord's name wrongly. As a teen and into young adulthood, I got into the bad habit of saying this but when it was pointed out to me that I shouldn't, I really tried to stop. When I'm excited or angry, it sometimes comes out and I know it sounds horrible and I feel ashamed. God is listening! I tell my kids that why we shouldn't say this and I apologize as well.

    Well, you are now officially random and weird. How does it feel? (Just kidding, of course!)

    I think I'll pass for now - I already KNOW I'm random and weird!

    Kate

    P.S. I may do this tag at a later date, however. On a day when I'm feeling REALLY weird!

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