Wednesday Hodgepodge - Today's Hodgepodge of Thoughts

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A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. May 24th is National Brothers Day. Do you have a brother? Older or younger? Did you raise brothers? Tell us something about your brother or tell us something about your own children who are brothers.

I have two brothers, both younger than me. I'm the oldest, I have a brother three years younger, a sister nine years younger, and another brother twelve years younger. I have a closer relationship with the older of my two brothers, because we're so much closer in age. 

Me and siblings in 2013, the last time we were all together!

 

I raised three boys. There's two years and one day age difference between the oldest two, and then about four years between brothers two and three. All three shared a bedroom for a few years. They all get along very well and these days brothers two and three are probably the closest since they are living in the same house. 

My kids - brothers and sister -
they did not plan ahead to wear flannels!

2. A great book you've read or movie you enjoy that features brothers?

 

I had a tough time coming up with anything here. I know a lot of the books I've read have brothers but none of them jumped to my mind with brothers as feature characters. Except the one I'm almost finished reading right now. In The Keys to Gramercy Park, the historical timeline features identical twin brothers with a very troubled relationship. They look alike but have completely different personalities.

 

Thinking of a movie was even harder. I thought of O Brother, Where Art Thou? which is not even about brothers! But a good one that our family enjoyed years ago is Brother Bear.

 

3. Something you think is overrated? Something you think is underrated?

 Potentially unpopular opinion: Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks (or anywhere, really) are overhyped. Every fall is a huge build-up and really they are not that special in my opinion. And I love me some Starbucks, but not Pumpkin Spice. I'm not a huge fan of flavored coffees in general. I think they are more about scent than flavor.

Something underrated . . . Hmmm . . . maybe breakfast for dinner. I just think we should do it more often.

4. How much does your past shape you? What parts have shaped you the most?

 I think we are all shaped by our past to a great extent. What we've lived through deeply affects our habits and attitudes, and it can be for good or for ill. I'm grateful that when I look back I can remember many positive life experiences that outweighed negatives and that I haven't been deeply scarred by trauma. I had a happy childhood (not all sunshine and lollipops, but overall happy) with many good family relationships and good friendships, so that has shaped how I raised my children and the value I place on home and family. As an adult, the one event that shaped me most dramatically was the circumstances that led to my husband and me moving to the United States. It's too long a story to tell here, but it was a series of "coincidences" that was very clearly God moving pieces into place, and it thoroughly convinced me that God cares about each one of us, has a purpose for us, and can be trusted to lead us and work on our behalf. 

5. What's your favorite simple pleasure?

 

Probably a bubble bath. As long as I can remember, I've loved to relax in a deep warm bubble bath with a good book. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

As I was putting together this hodgepodge, I was reminded of a link-up I hosted a few years ago called Twenty-Six Lists. It was just that - a link-up with a prompt of a list theme every other week and participants could just share a list or elaborate on their answers; and the lists could be three items or thirty, or just whatever. It was kind of fun and maybe I'll do something similar here on A Fresh Cup of Coffee sometime. A plan to start thinking about for next year perhaps.

 

Any thoughts about brothers or a reaction to my answers you'd like to share? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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