Friday, February 29, 2008

Oh, the quirkiness of me?

A month ago Veronica Mitchell tagged me for a meme where I am required to list 6 quirky traits about myself. At the time I declared myself dreadfully dull and claimed the need for time to think. I admit now that this may have been a ploy to save this meme for a rainy writing day. However, it turned out to be the honest-to-boring truth. In this past month, as I have attempted to start this post several times, I have come up blank. Faults? Oh, I have those in droves. But quirks?

Nada. Zip.

And I was distraught! How will my family ever miss me when I am gone if I am devoid of charming oddities? For, as anyone who has ever who has ever seen a sappy movie knows, it is not one's faithful love or devotion that their family misses but their idiosyncrasies. I have never heard a character bemoaning the loss of the mother who cooked them dinner every night for the last 30 years. No. It's always some random thing like, "She would always tap dance while she was dusting" or "She could never pass an animal on the side of the road without stopping" or "She always read the last page of a book first."

So, in absolute desperation to leave a legacy of annoying habits for my own children to miss after I have gone on, I have compiled the following list of almost-quirky traits.

1. I am a compulsive eavesdropper. I find myself compelled, in public places, to listen to conversations taking place around me. I simply cannot help myself. This can occasionally cause a problem. For example, I would not suggest interrupting a heartfelt conversation with your girlfriend to exclaim, "That woman sitting behind me just had a nose job! Can you see her? Can you tell?"

2. I really, really love this song.

And I sing it all the time. Almost every day in fact. Sometimes sweetly to my children. Sometimes loudly and obnoxiously when they display their irritation with my parenting a bit too overtly. There is nothing like an off key chorus of "Love you forever and forever. Love you with all my heart" to encourage someone to not find you annoying anymore. You should try it. It helps.

3. I have a fetish for cereal. I will eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack, you name it. And I like all kinds. From Lucky Charms to Fiber One, I don't discriminate. Jerry Seinfeld has nothing on me.

4. I detest background noise. I think this may be related to quirk #1, as I am just incapable of tuning it out. I can't stand to have the television or radio on unless I am specifically watching something. I have never been someone that can read while my husband watches television or fall asleep while the radio is on. It's not that I detest noise specifically, just noise unrelated to what I am doing. It's a losing battle for someone who chose to have four children. I am constantly walking around turning things off. I seem to be on perpetually hopeless quest for silence.

5. I tap dance while I'm dusting. Oy. I am really having to dig deep here. I read in the bathtub, which tends to make my books somewhat, um...wilted. I had to stop doing this with my Bible as it was becoming embaressing to pull out this warped crispy mess at my bible studies. This habit, among with some other issues we won't mention, resulted in a nasty parting of ways with my local public library. I am still mourning the breakup.

6. We have an area rug in the center of our living room. There used to be a coffee table on it but one of the older kids broke it and we were so broke the Weekids enjoyed the open space so much that we decided not to replace it until they were older. So now we just have a big empty rug, which is great. Whenever a snappy tune comes on the television, (and snappy tunes come around more often than one would think) I drag the kids onto the rug to join me in what Ben calls "the jumping dance." It's the Chaotic family mosh pit. The Weekids love it. The older two used to love it.

And someday they will again. When I am dead and gone the mosh pit thing is the only annoying endearing quirk I have left them with to regale their own children.

And now for the tagging...

I tag Slouching Mom! Oh I kid. Just wanted to see if your head would explode, Slouchy. (Poor dear has been tagged for 48 different facts so far and she's such a sweetie she just keeps spitting them out. And they are all interesting too. Amazing.)

Seriously though...
I tag Chrissy because she was adorably funny and quirky in high school and I would love to know she still is. Becky because she just started blogging and anyone with a masters degree in Puppetry simply must be quirky. And Catherine, because I love her writings and Asher stories and I would like to know more about her.

And as Veronica said, if one of your quirks happens to be that you detest Memes, well I'm okay with that too.

15 comments:

Chrissy said...

That is such a beautiful song! How could that possibly be a quirk?

I'm definitely up for the challenge, in fact I may have trouble narrowing it down to six.

Great job!

Kyla said...

I think my big quirk is probably having to make the bed RIGHT before I climb in. When poor Josh goes to sleep before me, I make the bed around him (like pull the covers over his face and then fold them down, the whole deal).

spaz said...

If you didn't admit to the listening to other peoples conversation quirk, I was going to have to call you out on it :) I remember one time, we were on a road trip (I have no idea where we were going). You and I were sitting at the very front of a fast food restaurant (farthest away from the counter as possible) and I was talking to you and you started laughing. And I hadn't said anything funny. I think I just gave you a confused look and you said, "Didn't you hear what that lady in the drive thru just ordered?" Ummmm...no. And that was the first time I learned about quirk #1. It doesn't bother me anymore because I know you can't help it.

karen said...

I should know better than to click links to blogs I don't know when they are recommended by friends. I should know that my friends have good taste in blogs and I will end up wanting to read the new blog, which will move my current 2:14am bedtime to 2:17 or 2:23, depending on whether I feel the need to comment. I should know this! I DO know this! And yet, I click. Thanks for the new reads...

A quirk: Sometimes I gently shake the Ovaltine canister to bring the larger lumps of mix to the top of the powder, then fish them out with a spoon and eat them without milk.

Lisa Spence said...

I love your quirkiness! I especially loved your inability to come up with anything cutely quirky and quirkily cute...because that would SO be me as well! Faults, yes and amen, too many to count; but quirks? Boring can't be quirky any more than quirky is boring...

*sigh*

Anyone up for a "all the ways I'm boring" meme?

:-)

Catherine said...

Thanks for the tag! I'll see what I can come up with.... :)

Beck said...

Your quirks are AWESOME. Sadly, I just have quirks in place of a personality.

PJ said...

Oh my goodness. I do that too. I don't even have to hear people talk, I just watch them. Sometimes body language is enough.

And songs run around inside me head forever. I usually whistle them softly.

I'm sure they will never forget the "love you forever and ever"

painted maypole said...

i think that it's hard to think of ourselves as quirky. i bet someone you know well could list 6 quirky things about you much more easily.

and background noise... me, too! how can people read or sleep with the TV on?!?? drives me nuts.

S said...

oh, the background noise drives me nuts. and my husband prefers as much noise as possible. can you say incompatible? ;)

thanks for the not-tag; i appreciate it!

Lori said...

Oh, I just love quirky ol' you!!

the dragonfly said...

I read in the bathtub too! My husband laughs at me, because I ask for baths like gifts..."Can I take a bath? Please?"...since on normal days the Little Mister keeps me from the bathtub.

Amanda said...

Mmm, cereal :)

Anonymous said...

I accept the challenge! I couldn't keep myself to just six and I wrote seven, but more and more just keep popping up in my head. Should I be worried? Is there a pill I can take?

Christine said...

i am SO with you on number 4!

i just love your quirks, my friend.

Running on empty