Getting to Know You

A few days ago, when I changed my profile picture for Poetic Blessings to a picture of Rian and me, some of you messaged me and asked me my name. I thought that was nice but a little odd–until I noticed that Facebook had taken down the section of my page called “About Me.” In that section, I had told you my name, written a brief bio, and introduced you to my family–my husband, Monty, and our cats Mackin, Carrick, and Rian. Anyway, I thought since that section was gone, and many of you are new to Poetic Blessings (welcome!), I’d re-introduce myself to you. I found a “Getting to Know You” questionnaire online and asked Monty to go through it and choose some questions to ask me. Here’s our interview. (when I say “you” in my answers, I’m referring to Monty.)

What brings you joy?
Reading. Writing. Reading and writing while wearing pajamas. Spending time with family. Being with you. Walking in the door of our home we’ve created together and being greeted by our boys.

What gives you butterflies?
Butterflies. Seriously. I have a phobia of all crawling, hovering, dive-bombing, buzzing things. I can’t even look at a picture of one of those heinous creatures. At the top of the list are bees and wasps. (even typing those words makes me shudder) My dad has told me my whole life: “Stand still. If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.” And guess what I’ve done my whole life? Inwardly shriek, “Feet, don’t fail me now!” and run.

What’s the best gift you ever got?
For Valentine’s Day eight years ago, you gave me a kitten that I named Seamus. When he passed away last summer, a very special friend gave me a kitten that I named Rian. He became the only light I could find in an incredibly dark time. In many ways, he saved my life.

What do you consider comfort TV?
“I Love Lucy” and “Little House on the Prairie.”

What song do you never skip?
“Bohemian Rhapsody.” I am compelled to sing every word and add in some air piano while I sing. I also can’t skip “Ice, Ice Baby.”

What makes you angry?
People who are cruel to animals and to others who can’t defend themselves. There are other things, but I would prefer not to get in trouble with Facebook again, so to quote Forrest Gump, “That’s all I have to say about that.”

What’s one of your favorite pictures you’ve taken?
A picture of Rian. On the September day when Rian, who had almost died and then been saved by surgery, got his stitches out, we got to the vet early. We parked and let him out of his kennel in the car. He came and stood in my lap, just looking up at me. He still had to wear a T-shirt at that point to cover his stitches. Rian’s face, the little T-shirt, and knowing the miraculous outcome of his illness makes that picture one of my favorites.

What’s a goal you have for 2022?
Publish a book of my poetry.

Name someone you look up to.
My parents. Their faith and the way they live it in every single thing they do is something I will always try to emulate. And you, Monty. Your work ethic, your passion for learning, your kind and generous heart, and the way you’ve loved me when I didn’t deserve it—you’re my hero.

Small town or big city?
We’ve lived in this town of about 800 people for almost ten years after growing up in a city that has around 200,000 people. There are definitely things I miss about the city—restaurants, bookstores, and theaters—but I love living in a small town. I like the whistle that wakes us up at seven and reminds us when it’s lunch and suppertime. I like going out for pizza—which means calling an order into the gas station. I like going to the Dollar General and running into my nephew and two couples we know from choir. I like that everyone knew we cut down the dead tree in our front yard within hours—before we told anyone. And I love the quiet, especially at night. I never once heard owls when we lived in the city. Here, I get to hear them talk to each other all night long.

Who’s your favorite author?
This is not a fair question. I have so many! I’ll pick one in each area. For young adult fiction, my favorite writer is Maud Hart Lovelace who wrote the Betsy-Tacy series. For fiction, I choose Stephen King—he pulls me into his stories in the first paragraph and doesn’t let go until the last. My favorite poet is Louis MacNeice. And my favorite writer of nonfiction is Daniel James Brown, who manages to make every subject he writes about so interesting that I think about it even when I’m not reading.

What are you proud of?
Graduating from college. Our 25-year marriage. And my ten years in recovery after ten years of addiction to alcohol and drugs. These ten years haven’t been perfect. They haven’t been a linear trajectory from addiction to sobriety. But, as we say in my recovery program, it’s about progress, not perfection. And I sit here today clean, sober, and so very grateful for the life I have because of recovery.

What motivates you?
The joy of creating and the knowledge that I’m doing what God created me to do.

What’s a quote that you live by?
It’s actually a verse, but I first learned it as a little girl in a hymn we sang in church. The hymn is called “I Know Whom I Have Believed.” Each verse of the hymn is about things we may not understand about God, but then there’s the chorus telling us that it doesn’t matter if we understand those things because we know God:
“I know Whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”
As a little girl, I didn’t understand the hymn’s message. I just loved singing the chorus because it had such perfect poetic rhythm. “Believed” was three syllables (believe-ed) so that it matched the other verbs. The little wordplayer in me loved that. I later discovered that the chorus is, word for word, part of 2 Timothy 1:12. And to me, those words say everything I need to base my life on: I know Jesus. I believe Him. And He is able.

And finally. What’s your name?
Renee.