Friday, January 31, 2014

Here's Lookin' at You, Kid!

My dear friend Holly Brown turned me onto this series of blog prompts that are meant to help your children to know you better.

I see the value in this because it is really easy for children to think of you only as their parent and not realize that you have any life (or HAD any life) that isn't completely consumed by them. I think coming to view people as holistic creatures is humanizing, and so I thought to myself, "Why not?"

I can't promise that all these posts will be interesting for everybody. Since they're all about "me" and they are for my kid, I don't blame you for starting to think I'm a narcissistic twit by the end! But blogging is a humbling experience in a lot of ways, so I'm willing to share a bit about myself even at the risk of sounding like an idiot!

So here goes Day 1 - List 20 Random Facts About Yourself

1. I love to play the piano but am equally terrified of the instrument itself because I know I will never be good enough to bring out all the awesomeness that the piano deserves. Sometimes this scares me into not learning more. 

2. I've been a redhead since birth, but my hair only started growing out of my head curly since I was about fourteen. I've been a bit confused how to deal with it ever since!

3. I was a huge tomboy well into middle school years. I was obsessed with football, dressed rather boyish and was constantly being asked if I was a lesbian. Even your Yaya assured me it would be okay with her if I were. Ha ha. 

4. I'm not a lesbian and I still love football.

5. I'm obsessed with lists: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, AFI Top 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, even just making to-do lists and crossing things off it. It gives me a very satisfied feeling. 

6. I've dealt a fair bit with anxiety and depression in my short life and am pretty thankful that it hasn't ever gotten any worse or harder to manage. 

7. I became a follower of Christ in July of 1997 at Hume Lake Christian Camp. I didn't fully know what I was getting into but through every storm of life, I've never regretted my decision.

8. I'm still never sure whether I'm an introvert or extrovert and I feel like I've taken every test and evaluation known to man to try and discern it. I feel like it is a helpful thing to know!

9. Your dad is the first man I have ever been in love with and the first man I ever told "I love you" and meant it in a way like I want to marry you and have your babies. =)

10. I've been the oldest, middle, youngest, and only child, just depending on who my mom was married to at any given time in my life. 

11. We're not really related to your Aunties Rachel and Blair except through love. This follows #10 above, as my mom was married to their dad and we were small together and we grew up loving each other as sisters, and I saw no reason why that should stop when our parents divorced!

12. I never wanted a big wedding; I wanted to elope. Your dad talked me into it, though, and I'm glad he did (mostly). 

13. My maiden name is Bertolucci. I love it, and I loved being Cassandra Bertolucci. It was hard becoming "Cassie Tenny", although of course I'm happy about it now!

14. I desperately want to visit Italy and Ireland, two places our ancestors hail from. 

15. The three and a half years I spent getting my college degree in Sydney, Australia were some of the hardest and happiest of my life. Sometimes I miss Australia so much my chest actually hurts. 

16. I feel more confident and beautiful the older I grow. I hope I continue to feel this way as I age. 

17. I'm addicted to caffeine...you probably already knew that since you've seen mama without coffee. 

18. I absolutely love to alphabetize things but even more I like to put things in color order. You might have noticed this from looking at our bookshelves. It drives Daddy cuckoo. 

19. I used to be pretty alright at shooting pool, and I was even in a billiards league for awhile. 

20. I was the lead singer of a Colorado band called Spankin' Whitey for a few years. We played mainly biker bars and motorcycle events. I loved it. Sometimes I miss it, but would never want to sacrifice valuable time with you and Daddy to do it anymore. 

And there you go! I've started...let's see if I can actually go the 30 days and stick it out!