Here’s this week’s SHARE YOUR WORLD – 2015 WEEK #47.
In your native language which letter or character describes you best? Why?
M, for Mary.
It’s not that I’m just so vain. I was named after my maternal grandmother, whom I dearly loved. She was the most important early influence in my life because she loved me unconditionally and appreciated me as a child. My own mother expected me to think and act like an adult as soon as I was able to walk and talk. I often disappointed her, especially as a young child who was curious about the world and consequently asked a lot of questions and went off exploring on her own frequently. But Grandma enjoyed answering my childish questions. She taught me to make biscuits and to do other basic tasks like scrambling eggs, chores that my mother didn’t have the patience or the inclination to teach me.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Getting my nails done every 2–3 weeks. Purple fingernails are my personal trademark, and I always get the same shade.
I say that my manicures are my main extravagance because I consider books a necessity of life, not an extravagance. However, for the past couple of years I’ve been trying to use the library more in an effort to convince myself that I don’t have to purchase my own copy of EVERY book I want to read, either now or in the future.
Do you prefer exercising your mind or your body? How frequently do you do either?
No real question here: My mind. I exercise my mind a lot, by reading and writing every day.
I do know that if I don’t also exercise my body, my declining years are not going to go as well as I’d like. The closer I get to 70, the more I realize that I need to exercise regularly to maintain strength, stability, and flexibility. Like just about everyone else in the world, I plan to get back into a regular physical exercise routing on January 2.
The beauty of audiobooks is that I can exercise my mind as I’m exercising my body. Knowing that physical exercise time does not have to lessen my reading time is what allows me to think I’ll be able to establish a regular workout routine.
List at least 5 things that make you laugh.
- A really clever pun
- A baby’s laugh
- Watching a young child discover something exciting about the world
- A fond memory of something said or done by one of my friends who’s no longer alive
- OK, I’m like everybody else: all those crazy cat, dog, and baby videos people post and repost on Facebook
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week at Kalaloch Lodge on the coast of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula. I love watching the waves roll in. That was a huge chunk of R & R for me, and I now look forward to getting back to work with renewed vigor in the upcoming week.
Have a great week, everybody!