Number 8 - Passions

8. What are 5 passions you have?

For my own sake, I'll just define "passion" so I can refer back :)

Passion - an intense desire or enthusiasm for something

1. Mothering and childhood development - I could talk about being a mom and about kids all day long.  Part of it is just where I am, but truly, I love it.  I always have been drawn to moms and young kids and hearing about motherhood and kids and how they grow up and what stages they are in.

2. Cloth diapering/living simply/being frugal - if I can save a penny by doing a little extra work, I'm often on board.  Especially if it's something "easy" like making something myself or canning something myself or re-washing something instead of using disposable...I could talk about those things all day too.  Just ask me about cloth diapering.  I dare you.

3. Finding out about who people are and what makes them that way - a big part of this is hearing people's stories and their family's history.  It tells a lot about a person and the things they do/decisions they make to hear where they've come from and what they've been through.  I find it easier to be patient if I know why someone is doing what they are doing.  I find it easier to be compassionate if I understand what someone has been through.  I find it easier to feel like I know someone if I have heard a bunch of stories about where they've been and how they grew up.  I wonder, though, if this is less of a passion and more just how my brain works.  I am constantly thinking about why people do what they do.  It's just what my mind does.  I know I've mentioned it before.  But I think it fits into the passion category too.  Come and tell me about who you are and I could listen to you for hours :)

4. Gardening - I grew up saying I would NEVER have my own garden and here I have been, the last few years, dreaming about my own yard and gardens - yes, plural! - in January!  It could partly fit into number 2 above but it's about more than just growing our own food and storing it away for winter (being frugal).  It's about transforming our yard into a beautiful retreat.  It's about being able to walk around and know that, through a partnership with God, I put that plant there and it's thriving (or dying...I'm still learning) and making the yard more complete and breathtaking.  Now, being frugal gets in the way of me just going out and making the yard exactly the way I want it, but over the next few years I hope to transform our yard into something special.  I'm lucky because I'm starting here on the acreage with something special already...we have a yard that will be a beautiful retreat right from the start!

I'm having trouble coming up with #5.  Maybe I'm not very passionate?  Or maybe a good question would be how many things you can be fully passionate about?  Not many things really get me excited without abandon.  Hmm...ok.

5. Road trips with my hubby.  I get so excited about getting in the vehicle with a loose itinerary (as in, we need to be back in two weeks and we want to get HERE while we're gone) and just driving together.  We have so much fun.  We laugh a lot.  We spend a lot of time in silence.  Now that we have kids, road trips are different.  They're not the big adventure that they once were, though I do still get excited for them!  They just need to be a tiny bit more planned and with shorter driving days and more stops.  And gas costs more these days, not to mention our van being a gas guzzler (that sucks the fun out of a 60 hour road trip pretty quick).  BUT...the thought of getting in a vehicle with my honey still gives me "enthusiasm and great desire." :)