Blowing the dust off of the ‘ol blog for Siobhan C. And it's a meme no less! Let’s be honest here, I have always felt a certain kinship with women named Siobhan. They have shared my dismay at impossible pronunciations, and my excitement at getting ANYTHING personalized, so here goes. FOR YOU...
Who was your favorite teacher?
“Doerf.” Diane Doerfler. My creative writing teacher, coach, and mentor at Brookfield High School. She was plain, favoring tweed blazers and slacks. She was intense and demanded respect, and effort. She had long since shed herself of her husband, surrounding herself with companions that meant the most to her...eight dogs. She lived a quiet life in a cabin in the woods, just Doerf and her books. My writing sounded best when read aloud by her. And she always chose my writing to read aloud, because out of the other kids in the class, I was considered one of the best. She made me feel special and gifted and I don’t think I have written with such passion and commitment since. I was writing for her.
If you could have one day to do over which would it be?
The day my father died. I have no idea how I could have changed the fact that he dropped dead in the middle of a business meeting, but he was here in DC, and I was less than two miles away. Maybe I could have called him, told him to go the hospital, been en route to the office building, performed the CPR that no one else did, something. Something to change the very worst day in my entire life. Something that would have allowed him to walk me down the aisle five months later, to meet the most amazing kids ever, to prevent our family from fracturing. Something.
I'm springing for drinks, what will you have?
Oooo...after that last question I sure could use a drink. Something fruity and vodka-y. Surprise me.
What do you miss most about the salad days?
The dressing.
Dog or cat?
What was your favorite subject in school?
Reading, writing, reading some more. I just couldn’t understand kids who complained about being asked to read, or write. I was doing it anyway! It was a vacation from Math and Science.
What are you reading now?
I am trying to encourage Beck to read more, and to enjoy it. His class has a 100-minute a week reading challenge, and he has fallen behind…choosing iphone Minecraft over 20 minutes a day of a good book. Now that I am making him do something, it’s less fun. In fact, it has become a battle. So my response? Mom and Beck Book Club! I read with him, and I read his books, so that we can talk about them. We pick a cozy spot, and sometimes we make a fort. Reading is more fun with a friend, right? I am on book 2 of the Percy Jackson series and they are pretty fun reads. He is starting to catch-up.
Who is your favorite president of all time?
I am going to go ahead and say Reagan. Not because of his policies, his leadership, or his administration, but because he was president for the eight years I was growing up, and he just WAS. My parents adored him, he looked presidential, and nice -- like a grandpa, and at that time in my life, it seems unquestionable that he would be president forever.
Did you have a family nickname as a kid?
Thank God no. “Little Siobhan,” maybe. My mother was “Big Siobhan.” In fifth grade awful Mrs. Beiter asked me what me nickname was and on the spot I said, “Shivvy!” No one had ever called me “Shivvy” but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Things went south when I did not actually respond to “Shivvy” and she yelled at me in my new nickname, which made it a whole lot less fun.
What's your favorite restaurant?
Eventide, in Arlington. It’s where Sander and I like to go for date night. It’s nothing special, but it’s special enough for us.
When you grew up, did you get to be what you wanted?
I’m not sure I ever knew what I wanted to be, honestly. I’ll say yes. Because I’m happy. I knew I wanted to be happy.
Who are you and what are you doing in my RSS feed?
Posted by: Jjdaddyo | January 22, 2013 at 03:01 PM
I've missed you! Hope you write more soon!
Posted by: Kim | March 20, 2013 at 04:46 PM