an interview with Fire Byrd >O"-

1. What achievement outside of your children are you most proud of having done? i guess i would have to say that i am most proud of 'still standing' after surviving a lifetime of abuse; yes, a lifetime... at one level or another.... being abused as a child was fairly easy to survive... sounds weird, but instincts take over, and perhaps it even helped to believe that your family isn't any different than another... also having the ability to repress the occurrences of abuse while very young (not intentionally but as instinct preserves it's own) helped a great deal, too.


the hardest part that i am most proud of was to survive it as i delved into it ALL in therapy.... it was very much like having to live thru it all over again, and every bit as painful and emotional, or even more so as there was no escaping it, even when i tried to. so i did it.... and i am proudly still standing.




2. What is your most treasured possession? that would be my Bible, my faith, it sees me thru it one day at a time. and that would be even when i didn't think it was there... He was carrying me. (refer to ebba forsburg, 'carried')


3. What outside of family and pets would you rescue in a fire. my photos of old... you know the paper ones! they are priceless and irreplaceable. for instance, this one of my three oldest dtrs in dress up.... i do love this picture!


4. What is your dream for yourself, and what do you need to do to get it? to be free to be myself 24/7. as for the second part... i am sure i am working on it... but i am also pretty sure it is a pipe dream, that no one actually is 'totally real' 24/7.... it would be too taxing, and too vulnerable to say the least. but i am so very tired of feeling the need to hide myself! and that includes my feelings, my wants in life and of life, and all my quirky ways that are individual to me. i show up more often than ever before, but mostly i am but part of the whole... and that part is often a smaller part than the facade.... btw i am real here... or i don't speak here at all :O)

5. The saying that sums up the essence of you? live, love, and laugh out loud, (even when your hair is on fire). and yes i just adapted the phrase to fit me. (i am returning to edit this answer... b/c the prior answer is generally how i have coped thru thick and thin. but i have had the following saying on a card for many years, i post it near my pc and, as a counselor, i take it to camp and put it on my bunk...

this is the real me... :

in my heart -
you don't have to be perfect to belong in this place.
you don't have to have all the answers,
or always know the right thing to say.
you can climb the highest mountain, if you want.
or quietly imagine that you might, someday.
you can take chances or take safety nets,
make miracles or make mistakes.
you don't have to be composed at all hours to be strong here.
you don't have to be bold or certain to be brave.
you don't have to have all the answers, here,
or even know who you want to be. . .

just take my hand
and rest your heart
and stay awhile with me.

(i chose a bonus question!) 6. What would the inscription say on your grave stone?
i want my gravestone to be a marble bench for passersby, and i want it to say this and this alone.... 'she is still standing, but now by His side, and He has wiped away every tear from her eyes.'

thank you Fire Byrd, for the wonderful challenging questions to choose from... this was enjoyable and i hope you choose to let me interview you, as well! ;O)

Potential interviewees? If anybody else wants to have a go: here are your instructions: 1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." 2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions). 3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions and let me know when you have posted it, so I can link it. 4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. 5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.