1. What two words can make you angry? Explain: "Deserve" and "Pity" The word deserve peeves me as I see the duality of it. If one feels that one deserves the good things in life that come along, then on the other hand, one must deserve the bad things that occur also. That simply goes against my way of thinking, my core beliefs. Did the people in New Orleans deserve to have their homes destroyed and their lives taken by Katrina; did the people working in the World Trade Center on 9/11 deserve to be obliterated? I could go on and on...But the answer is a resounding no. Pity evokes a sense of pathetic weakness. I much prefer the words benevolence or compassion- they have a much more positive connotation to me. 2. What two words can make you happy? Explain: "Mom" and "Home" Mom is who I am to my wonderful son. I love being his mother and I wouldn't give up a moment of it, even the difficult times (and yes, there have been difficult times, and I'm certain there will be many more- he's 13 after all!) Home is the place where I can just be me. I don't have to put on any of my other "personas" and therefore I am truly relaxed when I'm home. 3. Who are two people that can make you angry? Explain: My ex-husband still (unfortunately) has the ability to irritate the hell out of me, even after being divorced for 9 years. I try to keep my ire under wraps as I don't wish for him to have that much of an influence over me anymore. B can make me very exasperated mainly because she knows me better than anyone else. Therefore, I cannot fool her like I can just about everyone else. Also, she knows just the right buttons to push. All in all, I have a long, slow fuse when it comes to getting angry. But once it blows, it is U-G-L-Y! 4. Who are two people that can make you happy? Explain: My son and B. No explanation necessary there. 5. Who is the one person that influences your life the most and why? I would have to say that it is my son. He does not directly influence me, i.e. tell me what to do (I'm the mom and in charge, after all!) However, most of the major decisions I make in life are also based upon the effect it may have upon him. I think that is a part of being a parent, the balance of taking care of yourself vs. Realizing what an incredible impact you have in the life of another very precious human being.