52 Stories: On the road again

Inspired by One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern, I've decided to ask people some thought provoking questions about themselves, as I feel that everyone has a story to tell. If you're just joining me on this journey today, please check out the previous posts from this series, as well.

I met this storyteller through my book blog. She occasionally writes guest reviews and I enjoy chatting with her about the latest novels. This past winter, she sent me some books, which I thought was really sweet.

Name you'd like to go by: Allie
Age (or age range): 40-45
Gender: Female
Location: Atlanta

What is an experience that is legendary for you?
Tough question. “Legendary” is a heavy word. Anything I consider to be legendary may unfortunately fall under the category of infamous. So I took a small poll and apparently many consider my road trips to be legendary. Over the past three summers I have logged thousands of miles on road trips with my kids - just me and my four little hoodlums, hitting the open road. The first summer was motivated by a nostalgic need to visit my roots in New England, and then I decided to add some sightseeing stops and visits with friends and family. After thirty days, as I pulled out of the last city, on my way home, I cried. Until I finished, I didn’t think I could actually do it, and I knew I was going to have to keep on truckin’. I can’t explain it, but I just love traveling and I’m so grateful that my children love it too. Every day is a new adventure. While on these road trips we learn something new about our country, our history and ourselves every day!

Now, it’s not all champagne and roses, let me tell you; it gets ugly and smelly, both in and out of the car. It can be stressful, expensive, and exhausting…but then you see beaches of Cape Cod, Niagara Falls, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the monuments of Washington DC, the Chicago vista from the Sears Tower, the wheat fields of Kansas, the cornfields of Iowa, the Alamo, the Gateway Arch…and it’s all so worth it! And I always find opportunities to reconnect with family and old friends. The planning starts six months before and we map it out and it becomes a big family project. Daddy thinks I’m insane. He flies in for some weekends, occasionally joins us in the car, and it’s really fun to watch him try and hang with us Road Warriors. Life on the road ain’t easy.

And so, the legend of Road Warrior Momma was born!

What is your guilty pleasure?
Okay, I guiltily admit I have many of these. Here goes: sleeping in on the weekends, coffee, expensive chardonnay, Yankee candles, Kid Rock, steaming hot showers, sunbathing (although I try to lessen the guilt with a hat and sun block), buying LOTS books - more than I can ever read, making photo books, entertainment award shows, and my rare time alone.

What is something you've never done but you would like to do?
Go to Italy! I want to ride in a gondola on the Grand Canal and then have drinks at Harry’s Bar; study the Statue of David and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel; walk the Spanish steps and toss coins in the Trevi Fountain; listen to the Pope deliver mass at the Vatican; eat pizza in Naples; sail on Lake Como (where of course I will meet George Clooney); and don’t even get me started in the shopping and wine drinking!

If you could give someone one of your favorite things as a gift, what would it be and why?
As far as material gifts, my favorite thing to give is books. Books have brought such joy to my life, and I want everyone to feel joy (not dread) when they get a book. I think about the person and try to buy book they would love to read (as opposed to books I love to read). Hopefully I’ve succeeded more often than not. Although sometimes I feel sorry for my friends and family, because they know they’re getting a book, there’s no suspense…ha, ha. I do shake it up sometimes and the book comes with a candle or lotion or jewelry.

As far as immaterial, I wish I could give the gift of peace and good health to all my friends and family. I wish this so much.

What is something you did that changed someone's life?
 I haven’t a frickin’ clue! I hope I have, and I hope I have for the better (but am realistic that there’s always a chance that it may have been for the worse). Hopefully in twenty years my kids will say that I did, but only time will tell.

What part of your personality is now extinct?
I used to be an energetic person (is that a personality trait?). I had boundless energy! Seriously – I was the energizer bunny and drove everyone around me crazy. But damn, I got stuff done! I could go to school (full time), work two jobs, help a friend move, go to the gym and party the night away – all in one day! Then I’d wake up and do it again. Where, oh where, did that girl go? Also, and probably more importantly, I’m no longer a wallflower. There was a time when it was very important that I be likable and fit in, so I suppressed my true self and my true opinions. I didn’t want to rock the boat. Wow, that really was a waste of time and effort. To all the wallflowers out there, it’s so much more fun to occasionally rock that boat.

What is one thing that you find really funny?
My family. Seriously. If I didn’t find humor in this house, I don’t think I could stay. There are six of us – four stinky boys and two loud girls. I have a child with autism, who makes me laugh all the time. Most of his stories would classify as TMI, but they sure are funny. I have a child who doesn’t like clothes and loves to dance naked. I have a child who takes life too seriously, so it’s my mission to get him to relax, which always results in hilarity. I have a drama queen, who is very funny, but I cannot let her know how funny she is. I have a child, who thinks he’s funny, but he’s not, and that’s funny. And then there’s me, who thought this would all be so easy, and it’s not, but even that’s funny. (Did you notice I described five kids? One is forty-something. Now maybe that’s not so funny.)

Tell me one thing you love about yourself (or a gift you'd like to get yourself, where money is not an issue):
I love the fact that I have a lot of really, really good friends…which I hope is a reflection of me, as a friend. New and old, male and female, paid and not paid, related and not related, from all over the country and all periods of my life. I am extremely fortunate in this regard. When the chips are down, I’ve got oodles of options. A gift for me would be more precious time, both in the short-run and the long-term.

What TV show, book or movie is most like your life?
 Parenthood. There’s a little bit of my life in each of those families. I LOVE that Show! NBC, please renew it for next year! It’s on Tuesday nights, 10:00 p.m. Watch it, please.

What is something that not many people know about you?
There’s not much! The older I get, the less I worry about what others think (so liberating), and now I’m an open book. But if people don’t know something, it’s because I don’t want them to!