Wednesday Hodgepodge - 15 June 2016

1. If you could sit beside and/or jump in any lake in the whole wide world today, which lake would you choose and why?

I would choose either Lake Hartwell or Lake Richard B. Russell. Both hold great memories for me.

2. What's your favorite 'fruity' drink?

I like Ocean Spray Cranberry-Grape Juice, the 100% juice, not the cocktail. I don't really like fruit flavored things like candy, cereal, or drinks. I prefer the real thing.

3. I read a list here of thirteen things to do right now to simplify your life. They were-

clean as you go, re-evaluate your relationships (cut toxic ties), unsubscribe (too many blogs and websites), de-clutter, write down your daily goals, reply to emails right away, forget multitasking, create a morning routine, re-evaluate your commitments (which hobbies and responsibilities are most important to you), say no, clean up your computer, and plan your day ahead

Which of the tasks listed do you currently find most helpful in keeping life simple? Which item on the list should you adopt in order to simplify your life this month?

Cleaning as you go and de-cluttering make things easier around the house overall. Cleaning up my computer is something that I am working on, most especially in my genealogy files. Getting all of the surnames into their proper top level folder and into the proper subfolders makes finding the information much easier when I need to call it up. Like May, June will include this cleaning up of my computer files.

4. What did you do the summer after you graduated from high school?

I spent the first part of it crying. I was scared. I've never been good at dealing with changes and this was a significant change for me. Each previous May, I knew what, at least to some degree, was ahead of me. I would be starting school again in the fall and it would be the same notes again just as it had been every year before since I was six years old. That wasn't the case for May 1983.

I was already engaged with hopes of getting married, but you never know what will come along to mess up those plans. I was also planning to start college and trying to figure out how to get there. I started college in January 1984. David and I got married in November 1984.

5. Are you a fan of podcasts? If so what's a favorite?

I don't know that I've ever watched any official podcast. I have watched videos on occasion and I am not entirely sure what the difference is between the two.

6. Do you think today's fathers have it harder, easier, or just different than fathers in the past?

I think that it is just different. There are some ways that fathers of the past had it easier than the fathers of today and the other way around. In some way, fathers of old had it harder. There weren't cell phones available to call and find out where the wayward, late-arriving child was at any given time. Now, most kids are just a phone call away. And, if they are ignoring your call, you can always do that phone finder thing on them and surprise them!

7. Tell us one way you're like your father? Or not at all like your father if that's easier?

I am like my daddy in that he was a very passionate, strong-willed, hot-tempered, determined person. Family meant the world to him.

He was an alcoholic. I do not drink. I won't say that I never have, because I used to drink and for the sole purpose of getting drunk. Vodka was my poison and most of the time it went down straight. I took my first drink as a young teenager, sneaking it from my daddy's bottle that he kept near his bedside. I no longer drink, but inside I do fight the urge. Sometimes when things are hurting and there is no end in sight, that vodka bottle screams loudly to me. But, regardless of any effects the alcohol might have on me, I cannot and will not do that to my children. I won't put that worry on them.

This song always makes me cry. It makes me think of my daddy.


Rest in peace, Daddy. I love you.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

No one is perfect and that includes our daddies. They are flawed humans just like the rest of us. The heart is an amazing thing - it allows us to love even those that have hurt us deeply. The bond between a daddy and a daughter, no matter how imperfect they are, is not one easily broken. Even death can't separate the love of a daddy from his daughter or her love from him.

Please also visit David's Hodgepodge post over at Random Thoughts and Observations. Thanks!