Are You In My Photo?

Once a year my parents would take us kids to Disneyland, which was only about an hour away by car but expensive enough that we couldn’t go more often. My strongest memory is of waking up at dawn and trying to get our parents out of bed so we could leave right away. The actual visits to Disneyland are a happy blur of rides, color, and magic. Did your family go to amusement parks? What are some of your cherished memories of these trips?

Do your relatives have family reunions? Are they big, worldwide affairs or just local gatherings in your home town? Do you get out the genealogy charts and talk about your ancestors? Share your stories of family reunions!

Seems like we just got through talking about how to handle the chill of winter and now here we are getting ready for the sweltering summer. Out here, the summer brings triple digit heat. What do you do to stay cool during the “dog days”?

Of all the things your mother ever taught you, either by word or by example, what has really stuck with you? What have you learned from your mother?

Spoiled meat, raw eggs, snails, insects–the list of disgusting foods is almost endless. What’s the most disgusting thing you ever ate?

When I was little, my mother wore Joy perfume, which smelled like roses. She switched to another scent when I was older, and now my mom has been gone for several years. Yet whenever I smell Joy perfume, or even roses, I’m instantly back in my childhood. The smell of coffee takes me back to my grandmother’s house, where we woke up to the aroma of a fresh pot when we visited in the summer. What smells take you back to childhood?

The day of hearts and flowers is fast approaching, which always turns me (temporarily) into a sentimental slob. Today’s question: If you could receive a Valentine from anyone at all, living or dead, real or fictional, someone from your past or your present, or even a complete stranger to you, who would your Valentine be from?

It’s mighty cold outside, unless you live in a nice warm place like Florida. What do you do to get through the winter? Do you settle in with a nice fire in your cozy home, or do you go out and engage in winter fun like skiing, sledding, or just throwing snowballs?

Most of us have them–sometimes lots of them. But how often are any of these resolutions carried through after the first couple of days of January? Has there been a resolution that you’ve kept? Is there a resolution that comes up year after year that you’re still working on?

One of my favorite holiday memories is the Christmas my parents gave me a little Siamese kitten (I think I was eight years old). I was overjoyed. I think the best part is remembering my father (a rather tall man) crouching down, peering under my bed and gently coaxing the timid kitten out for me after it fled from my arms in terror. What about you? What is your warmest, funniest, or oldest holiday memory?