Fun Questions to Ask

April 6, 2023

Back during early Covid time, my social circle was in threat of becoming extinct due to not being able to see each other. Then someone had the bright idea to set up Zoom calls every Friday night with anywhere between 7 to 15 people joining in. Best thing – we could drink at home and not have to worry about driving.

A must have rule – We had to have a theme! One of my favorite themes was 101 Questions ranging from childhood cartoons, high school band, first kisses, super powers, up to describing your job. I know that some of it may sound silly but when a 40+ year old friend mentions that they played the tuba in high school band and another jumps in saying that they did too, it is fun to see the bonding that takes place and reminiscing of stories.

That was over three years ago but I have kept doing these fund questions since then, either in work environment or relationships. This evening, my work colleagues and I are doing our monthly “Thirsty Thursday”. While of course we always have a lot to talk about, we have one that wants to use the time to complain about everything. When thinking of how to divert the conversation away from negativity so that we can all enjoy our evening, I remembered the questions and was instantly met with excitement from my work BFF.

How does it work? I put all of the questions on to a word doc, used large font, double spaced, extended the margins as much as possible, printed, then cut each question in to a strip. They are currently in an envelope in my purse to pull out and keep the conversation going. The envelope will be in the middle of the table and whichever question someone pulls out, they get to answer, and so on.

close up shot of an idea text on a brown envelope

This is such a great way to inspire conversation!

What fictional family would you most like to join?
Pull out your phone; what is your most used emoji?
Who was your childhood famous crush?
Imagine you are a professional baseball player. What is your introduction song?
What movie do you wish you could watch again for the first time?
You can only eat one food again for the rest of your life. What is it?
You are stranded on a remote desert island. Are you alone or with your worst enemy?
What simple food will you never eat?
Would you go in the mother-ship with aliens if they landed on Earth tomorrow?
What actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
What is the best romantic comedy?
What is an easy item on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?
What is the best kitchen gadget?
If you could be great at any Olympic sport, which would it be?
Who is the most famous person you have met?
How do you top your burgers?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What is your hobby?
What was your first online screen name?
What reality show would you want to be on?
What’s your favorite seat on an airplane (besides first class)?
If money and time were no object, what would you be doing right now?
If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?
What “old person” things do you do?
How long would you last in a zombie apocalypse?

women sitting on the wooden floor of the restaurant eating donuts

Now, get out there and learn something fun about someone else!

Gossip… It’s time to grow out of it.

March 28, 2023

I’ll be the first to admit that I knew “all” of the gossip at one time in my life. In high school, one of my teachers remarked that I seemed to know people were pregnant pretty quick. I laughed and told the teacher that I know a lot of things and in a joking manner, said, “I probably know they’re pregnant before they do.”

Time went on and I always knew that BIG things should be kept out of gossip. Yes, I know that sounds contradictory to what I explained about high school and I learned that teen pregnancy is a pretty huge deal and I should have kept my mouth shut. I grew out of it, thankfully. However, I’m noticing that some adult women STILL HAVE NOT. Because of that, in the past two years, I have taken my inner circle down so far that people wonder why I do not want to make friends.

Example #1 – A few years ago, while sitting around with several women, two women talked incessantly about another woman who wasn’t there. They acted like they were whispering, but a half dozen of us could clearly hear. Of course others started asking questions and I understood the phrase people use about cackling hens.

I already wasn’t a fan of Woman #1 anyways, but then as I sat back and listened, her only conversation topics were about other people, and she loved the attention. Woman #2 was almost just as bad, but I thought I could trust her more.

young stylish ladies gossiping and drinking coffee in cafe

A friend of both of these women asked why I didn’t like Woman #1. I flat out said, “She talks too much sh*t and needs to keep her mouth shut.”

Woman #2 and I grew a bit closer and in what I thought was in confidence, I expressed concern for a mutual acquaintance because of some Facebook posts I had seen. I had thoroughly enjoyed our mutual acquaintance and we always had great conversations when around each other – parenting, work, movies, single life; conversations that I would have liked to develop in to a friendship. However, I am sure that my concern was sent back to her because shortly after that, I noticed a difference when we were around each other. What did that tell me? That Woman #2 was just as bad as Woman #1. You see, I thought that Woman #2 and I were close and that we could actually talk openly with each other. I should have known that gossip is her conversation starter so instead of thinking about my concern, she shared it.

Example #2 – I started a new job almost 5 months ago and I absolutely love it. I work with four other women and we mainly all get along. Part of me would say that it’s because we are near the same age and that our maturity level is higher than women in their mid-20’s. The other part of me realizes that we all have things in common – Three out of five have been through a divorce and have all been single mom’s; Three out of five have been cheated on by their spouse. We all have kids. We have all been in our respective careers for over twenty years. We respect each other.

We collectively decided that a Happy Hour once a month would be a blast! The first time was fun and the conversation was great. Flash forward to the second one…

woman serving drinks on women sitting inside an establishment

Theresa begins to tell us about a well-known person in the area and the illegitimate child he fathered several years ago.

For some reason, this struck a nerve with me as she kept telling us stories about this man and the child, that she had heard from a friend of a friend of the mother’s. At first, we were all listening with intrigue. But, at some point while watching her, it started to bother me as she went too far and began theorizing about this or that. She was gossiping! And possibly lying! As I began to tune her out, I thought back to all of our conversations and began to realize that those were also gossip, “filling me in” about my fellow co-workers. Not to mention, her conversation starters are always about one of her son’s and his constant arguments with his baby mama… She thrives on the attention of her stories!

I’ve always known of this saying about gossip and never truly understood until I got older –

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”

Then there is the one that people post on Facebook and always seem to think is funny –

“If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody come sit next to me.”

two women lying down on white bed while looking at each other

Here is my problem each time I see that quote… While we might laugh and talk about people, at what point are you going to take what I say and relay that to others? No, thank you.

I know I made mistakes in my life by sharing gossip about others. Here’s where I am at in my life… I tell my mother things and my man. That is about it. If you know that I spent time with someone and you ask me a nosey question about them, I know what you’re getting at, especially if you are the gossipy type. I don’t want my life to be surrounded by talking about people. Let’s have in-depth conversations, get to know each other, UNDERSTAND each other.

Because I will be the first to tell you that I know that I have been gossiped about. In fact, I have good friends that have said things about me. I’m aware of it. They’re not as much in the good friends category as they would like to think though. Do you know who I respect? The people that hear it and stop it. Not only that, but the people that ask me the truth. Because gossip is attention getting. The real story isn’t as thrilling as you would think.

Dear Sherrill

March 17, 2023

I found out this week that you passed away a couple of years ago and so many memories went through my mind…

We began working together in 1998, maybe 1999, and we immediately clicked. You were only a few years older than me and had served four years in the Air Force and then went in to the Reserves. Raised in South Florida (my husband at the time was from there) and you had been stationed in California when Active Duty (where I’m from), so that immediately bonded us. Not to mention, we shared the same middle name. Things that seem trivial, but when you’re in your young 20’s, you grasp on to anything.

Our conversations at work were always so completely open and we talked about anything and everything…

Sometimes deep thoughts, funny gossip about other people, sometimes about our struggles growing up, my married life, your single life, what we thought the future held for us. On one Friday night every month, our department all went to dinner, then a nightclub, and our friendship felt like it had always been there as we danced without a care in the world while drinking and laughing. Your code at work was 976 so we often laughed and said, 976 BABE (from Pretty Woman) or call you “Sha-rell”, a play on the spelling of your name which is actually pronounced Cheryl.

A conversation that always stood out to me and always lingered through your life, was your mother struggling with deep depression. I believe she took her own life at some point before we met, and you were aware that you had also been afflicted with this disease, but felt you could keep ahold of it. Often, I would see you staring off, focusing on nothing. You needed reassurance in life that you were loved, and you gave love in return, never judging.

You fell in love with Derek, who also worked with us, but his feelings were not reciprocated. Somewhere in your heart, you knew this, but you were convinced he would, if only… I remember you thinking that he would now fall in love with you. He didn’t. Yet, you would still go to him when he asked… Sometimes returning full of hope, sometimes with heartbreak.

You glowed while pregnant and all of us, except Derek, did everything we could to keep you upbeat. Not only were you struggling with being single and having a child without support from the father, but you were having a bi-racial child, and your own father was having a hard time accepting that. At work with over 100 employees, most knew who the father was and you felt judged. But, we became your support team, standing up to others, making you feel safe.

Finally, that sweet baby boy came along and you finally knew the true meaning of love.

cute little baby drinking milk from bottle

Some would say you struggled with post partum depression. Those close to you knew that you were struggling with not being loved by Derek or he accepting his child. We stepped in and did our best to make sure that child felt so much love. If you needed a babysitter, one of us would step in. My husband at the time often watched him on the weekends if you were working or had Reserves. I loved holding your baby and spoiling him the way we do other people’s kids.

Maybe a year or so later, you moved to the outskirts of Chicago to live with a friend, hoping to start fresh and not have a constant reminder of Derek not loving your newly created family. We talked almost every day and I could still hear the sadness in your voice. Being in a new place is lonely, especially when you do not have confidence in yourself. You and the baby stayed sheltered in your room, not wanting to cause a disturbance to your roommate. Slowly, the loneliness took a bigger hold and you attempted to take your own life. God wasn’t ready for you yet and when your phone rang, you answered. Immediately, the angel on the phone knew something was wrong and called 911.

A few weeks later, your angel suggested you move to Oklahoma to be near him, so he could be there for you and the baby. This man loved you so very much, always had, and although you loved him as a very dear friend, you were wanting the fireworks you had felt with Derek. Yet, he was still there for you. He would keep the baby overnight, have dinner ready for the three of you, join on walks to the park, watch cheesy tv shows with you, hold you when you cried, celebrate raises at work… Everything you wanted out of Derek.

You and the baby came back for a quick visit to see family and hopefully for Derek’s acceptance. I was no longer married, but was going through my own struggles of being a single pregnant mom. Being around you again, it didn’t feel like any time had lapsed, but that sweet baby was now around 3 and was such a good kid. Yet, we both knew that something was still missing from your life.

After the two of you headed back to Oklahoma, we still kept in touch but the phone calls seemed to become more sporadic and I often received your voicemail, with no return phone call.

I had your angel’s phone number and would check in with him to see if you were okay. He assured me that you were but that you still struggled.

Time went on and the phone calls stopped. On occasion, I would google your name and you were still in Oklahoma. I found an email address for you and sent one letting you know what was going on in my life, but there was no reply. When Facebook came around, I found you and sent a friend request that went unanswered. Four years later, I sent a Facebook message saying, “I found you. Yay! Call me. Here’s my number.” Of course I stalked what I could see on your page and that baby was now a teenager, active in sports. You still looked the same with your auburn hair color and lots of black eyeliner.

To this day, each time I hear the song, “Truly, Madly, Deeply” by Savage Garden, I think of you. That was your song to Derek and you had even left the lyrics for him to find on his pillow case. Through the years, I would say a quiet prayer for you when the song played and wonder how you were doing. I gave up trying to reach out or google you, figuring that if you had the urge to talk, you would find me. I also knew that I was a reminder of your past, and sometimes, it is better to walk away from those people.

This week while looking through Facebook messages, I went to the Spam folder. I do this periodically to see if there is anything I missed. I laughed while I kept scrolling because there were messages from fake accounts asking if I would care for a chat, a wave emoji, and one even told me that I had beautiful feet. Then I saw the message that I sent you on November 13th, 2013, unread. I clicked on the view profile button, and I was informed that your profile wasn’t visible. Of course I was saddened that you would block me, but I also remember that you probably had to do it to escape your past, and I understood. If we had been able to talk, we would have talked about the past. When we are trying to create a new life for ourselves, talking about painful memories can take us down a hole that we may have a hard time crawling out of.

I typed your name in to Google and saw that you were listed as an Administrative Executive on LinkedIn in Wyoming of all places. LinkedIn showed that you hadn’t posted in awhile, which isn’t uncommon for most people. Back to Google and now adding in Wyoming. Up pops an announcement from a funeral home. You passed away on August 20th, 2021. No, this cannot be you. There wasn’t a full obituary so I was unable to confirm it was you, so I still had hopeful doubt. However, under the guestbook, there was one entry and it was from your angel.

“Sherrill, As you close your eyes in rest, may all your pain and troubles be lost forever. May you find paradises and a world of eternal life…May your soul Rest In Peace!”

He sent prayers to your son and your brother, with their names mentioned. That is when I knew it was you…

My focus became determining what happened in those missing years. In 2018, you fell in love with a man that served in the Army for 3 years, and became engaged. His obituary from September 23rd, 2019 tells the love story of you falling in love with his rugged good looks and his intelligence. It goes on to say that you two were looking forward to marrying and spending the rest of your lives together, and that he loved you fiercely, carrying that in your heart and soul forever. I’m not sure how or why he passed away, but that you were by his side. You carried that love for two days shy of 23 months. Grieving with a broken heart is hard to do for even the average person, but for you, your heart could not be fixed.

Sherrill, I looked up your son on Facebook. He looks like you. His profile picture shows him smiling with his arms around a young lady. He’s in the Army. I messaged your angel and your son through Messenger immediately upon seeing your announcement and although I do not expect them to find my words anytime soon, maybe one day, they will come across it when they need it. I also found a photo of you and your fiance standing in front of Mount Rushmore. He’s staring at the camera, while you are resting your head on his shoulder looking off. You hadn’t changed in all those years.

I cannot imagine the struggles you went through in life, that you felt you needed to fight on your own. And although you only had a year with the love of your life, I am happy that you were able to experience someone that loved you for you. I know that the loss was overwhelming and I wish that you had been strong enough to see your son start a family of his own, I understand that you felt this was your only option.

I will continue to remember you each time I hear the numbers 976 or the song by Savage Garden. I’m sorry that you struggled. I’m sorry that we didn’t keep in touch. I’m sorry that you felt this was the way out. I’m sorry that you didn’t know the impact you made on others. Thank you for being my friend all those years ago.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support. https://988lifeline.org/

The Power of Conversation

June 5, 2020

Conversations vary with different people. It seems that sometimes when you talk to a friend, particularly on the phone, it is to catch up and talk about your day to day life. It is not often that you will get in to a serious conversation and really explore the depths of your silent thoughts. You may touch on a subject, but aren’t we all afraid to speak openly at times? To really say our true feelings without the fear of embarrassment or rejection? What about the intelligent conversations? Where in our life can we fully discuss things with our friends and ask questions about ourselves?

At times, there are friends that we may feel the need to pull away from, for whatever reason. It always seems that women miss talking to each other, though. Their friend could have been less than perfect in certain friendship areas (that only we women seem to understand), but we remember the conversations – we crave the conversation! It could have been nothing more than having someone to talk to about our day or discussing life with children and husbands. Sometimes we wonder if certain friendships are even worth it and do we truly trust this person. However, I think that we have to look at the friendship and decide what we get out of it. Do we get gossip? A free babysitter? Someone to occupy our time? Those may be important issues for some of us and I have learned that each friend is there for a certain reason, for only us to decide. Very rarely will we find one friend that will fulfill every need that we could possibly have.

Yet, it is our friends that give us insight in to ourselves. Not necessarily by making us question our values of how we live, but by having those heart felt conversations on marriage, child birth, divorce, death, religion …. You name it. By having intimate conversations, we are able to truly see ourselves and learn to vocalize our fears, needs and wants through others by realizing that maybe we aren’t alone in this world – that we are all going through it together. By recognizing our friends weaknesses, we will hopefully recognize our own and begin to build on those to make them in to a strength that is powerful – one that we will want to share – something to help us become better reacquainted with our life.

Where can we stimulate our minds more than by discussing life with our friends? In business, we stimulate our minds with numbers and problems where we can feel the gratification when a certain transaction is completed, filing it away as complete. Yet, in friendships, we keep building. We will go through life together and hold each others hands and talk about our experiences. Years later, we will remember that particular time in our lives, regardless if we have become acquaintances with these friends or still remain close and will know that from one conversation, we may have changed our viewpoint on a certain subject. Yet if it wasn’t completely changed, we opened our eyes just a bit to look at a different side of life. Maybe that is the challenging thing about friendships and the conversations – how to remain friends even when our opinions differ.

At times, friends give you a view in to your thoughts that you had not even stopped to realize. Then there are the times that they can hurt you with a simple comment or a reminder of a time that you would rather forget. These are the instances that we have not been completely honest with ourselves or our friends – we do not let them know how we really feel on a subject out of what? Fear? Denial? And only when they make these comments, do we realize how it hurts. If we are good at lying to ourselves, they will not notice the little cringe that tightens our heart. Then again, maybe we should ask ourselves if they are that good of friends that they didn’t realize it would truly hurt….. or maybe they intended to hurt us just to see our reaction – to catch a glimpse of our eyes flickering or our voice faltering when continuing on. Is that fair to our friend – to deny further knowing us and to understand this confusion that rests within us? Wouldn’t it be better to sit down over a cup of coffee and honestly say, “You hurt me”? Or would that put a hindering on the conversation and take away what we need the most – companionship……..

An overwhelming love of a friend…

May 29, 2020May 31, 2020

It was a simple request I sent to a few people along with the link for this website…

Hello! If you have a chance, will you take a look at this and let me know what you think. It’s not done, obviously, and some “buttons” do not have links. I would really like your honest opinion about the layout, etc, anything that you think needs to be updated, etc. And if you would like to follow on fb, pinterest, or instagram, that’s cool, too. I haven’t decided yet if I want to keep my name off of it, so please don’t announce that this is me. Oh! And if looking from your phone, it may not be as “smooth” as from computer. I just need some different eyes on it, besides mine, and I’m reaching out to a few who I think would like it. Thank you!

I sent this out before heading to work and expected… Oh, I don’t know what I expected. Something. Someone to tell me that it was good… that they enjoyed how to cut a pineapple or that they like the pictures.

Sitting at work, the facetime call comes in. Have you ever had this gut reaction that this is going to be an emotional call? I did. So, I walked outside to have some privacy. I didn’t even put my sunglasses on and I always have them on outside. Somewhere in me, I knew my eyes needed to be seen by her.

And there she was… I’m not sure I would say my mentor because we don’t deal with business stuff together… I’m not even sure if friend is a strong enough word… She is the one that can read me like a book. I can look at her and put on a smile and say that I am doing great and she’ll just look at me and my truthful words will come rushing out. There is something that surrounds her… This warmth, this acceptance, this been there done that, this love, this joy… And there she was with tears coming down her face…

“Oh, honey! I knew it. There is no better gift than to witness a persons transformation.” My tears were falling as I told her that I just felt like I have so much to say and I’ve been wanting to do this for so long and the timing finally felt so right, that I haven’t felt so sure about something this strong in such a long while. She explained to me that it was my throat chakra with having so much to say and I need to say it and get it all out. Through tears, I continued to tell her that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to let people know it was me yet. “God is listening and you need to stay right there. Focus on that. Keep a bubble and stay in this path.”

We ended that call with telling each other, “I love you.” I knew that she would be proud of me. I could sense that she would be the one that would totally get WHY I was doing this and would see the deeper wounds that were coming out in my writing.

I don’t often have that overwhelming sense of someone being proud in me often. Sure, family will allude to it for keeping my head afloat, but they love to remind me of things I have screwed up on. But, her words, they felt different. It was an overwhelming love that I felt surrounded by and I needed to experience that… It had been too long.

So, here I continue on this journey full of love and support. I hope that my words will make a difference in someone’s life one day the way she has made a difference in mine.