100 things Edition 1: Before Children

I am quickly approaching my 200th post! Wow, I’ve had a lot to say these past 9 months. To celebrate, I’m contemplating a giveaway and I’m doing the obligatory ‘100 things’ post…..only in bits and pieces. And only 100 because I don’t even know 200 things about myself. So here’s the first installment.

1. I was born in Maryville, Tennessee. I am southern through and through. I like banjo music, monograms, cornbread, saying y’all, teaching my children to say ‘yes ma’am’, and watchin’ Gone with the Wind.
2. I took a hard fall as a baby while sitting in a ‘punkin’ seat on a kitchen table. That may explain the following 98 things.
3. I am a people pleaser to a fault. I was compliant and pleasant as a child. And cried alot. And still do.
4. I went through a severe tomboy phase as a young girl. I took boxing, had a mullet, begged to try out for the football team, and loved to beat boys in arm wrestling.
5. I fell into a frozen lake while playing outside with my friends. I was afraid I was going to die and even more worried that my Jordache jeans were ruined. I didn’t. They were.
6. My daddy loved a good honky tonk and frequently left my sister and I in the car with some RC cola and some ‘tater chips’ while he did whatever it is you do in honky tonks. This didn’t seem to me all that strange at the time.
7. I am an overachiever. Partly I think as a result of being a child of a binge drinker.   And partly because I function as a first born. (my brother is 7  years older). I rarely do things in a ‘normal’ fashion.
8. My mother has always loved me unconditionally. This may be the greatest gift that I have received from a human. I am trying to pass it to my children. She made it look so easy.
9. I am an eternal optimist. The glass is always half full—-with pink juicy sparkling champagne. And a cherry on top.
10. I have been a christian for more than 30 years. I have done nothing to merit the wonderful grace of God. I have only presumed upon it and abused it in the most vile ways. I am learning to accept the gifts He gives with humility.
11. I am more like my daddy than my mother. I inherited his sense of humor, his insatiable bruxism, his kind and generous spirit and large imposing forehead.
12. I’ve always had the most wonderful friends. It seems that no matter where I move, beautiful angelic people are waiting to ‘befriend’ me. I am thankful for them all.
13. I never tried marijuana or any illicit drugs and did not drink alcohol until I was 27. I have never smoked a cigarette.  Go ahead and say it.  Goody two shoes.
14. That said, I will probably die from lung cancer from the 2nd hand smoke I was exposed to as a child.
15. I have always had the sense that we are part of a grand adventurous story. That God has a purpose for our lives. That His great ransom of mankind is the most miraculous and romantic tale of all.
16. My mother once told me, “The sun always shines where you are”. I have spent decades listening to that phrase play a melody in my heart. And I finally believe she is right. He does always shine. He is like a consuming fire. Purifying and making new.
17. My sister and I have shared a complex myriad of traumas and joys together. It has forged in us a bond that is untouchable. It is, I believe, eternal. I’m sure that she and I will go skating together in heaven and watch our children play along the sea and make each other laugh till we cry.
18. I have a ravenous appetite for books. I wish I could just sit and read all day, every day. I almost always have a book in hand. And one in my purse. And several in my car. And hundreds in my house. I think of Lewis and Chesterton and Luther and McDonald almost as friends. And just mentioning G.K. Chesterton’s name makes me want to devour “Orthodoxy” again. But I need to finish Surprised by Joy first and I am so jealous of Steve who is finishing C.S. Lewis’ sci-fi trilogy. My favorite book is Mere Christianity. After the Bible of course.
19. I was named after two deceased uncles. Ed and Dennis. Wow, that’s a cheerful start.
20. Edie is not short for Edith. It’s just Edie. A name which I hated as a child. Why couldn’t I be Kristi or Tiffany or Kelly? Now, I love my name. It exactly fits me.