Acrostic...

This week we are supposed to create an acrostic using the letters of our name, coming up with words that tell a bit about ourselves.

Hmmmm....I asked my sweet Mark to help me with this task. An acrostic that I would create and one my husband would create are two very different things. My friend, Diane, is always telling me not to be so hard on myself but it seems I am good at it.

According to Mark....Joanie is

Just
Original
Altruistic
Neighborly
Intelligent
Energetic

Isn't he sweet? I wish I could see myself through his eyes.

I looked up the definitions of each word and asked him specifically which definitions he meant. He was sweet to play along with me.

Just:Honorable and fair in one's dealings and actions: a just ruler.
Consistent with what is morally right; righteous: a just cause.
I get this one. It seems as though I am constantly amazed at the human ability to do what is wrong and be okay with it. I have never understood mans capacity for cruelty or even simple rule breaking. It is something that makes me crazy, until recently.
I was listening to some Jewish History tapes. The tape series is called, 5000 years of Jewish History in 5 hours. I have been listening to the 1st hour for 5 months. It is a lot of information to absorb. One of the things the Rabbi Wien speaks of is that mankind is basically made up of a lot of people doing awful things to one another. There is a belief in Judaism that 36 righteous people support an entire generation. This gives me comfort for some strange reason. Justice is not always fair but it is required in a civilized society.

Original: Not derived from something else; fresh and unusual.
I will just leave this one alone.

Altruistic: Regardful of others; beneficent; unselfish;
opposed to egoistic or selfish.
This is funny to me. I think I can be selfish. I have a hard time sharing 'things'. I think he is thinking of my time and sharing experiences with others. He is sweet.
My family is so important to me. I will do whatever I can to help them. I think it has taken my husband a long time to get used to being a part of an extended family that has almost daily contact with one another. Parent, siblings, Aunts, cousins are all a big part of our lives. So I may not share my chocolate with you I will help you move, or do a project.

Neighborly:Friendly and helpful.
I love to talk to people. Everyone has a great story - you just have to find out what it is. I have yet to meet a person that doesn't have some sort of interesting life experience. It is very cool when someone will share their stories with me. I don't think I am any more neighborly than most but I do enjoy a good conversation.

Intelligent: Having or showing ability to think and learn.
Okay, so I am not dumb but really what would my sweet husband say here? I love to do logic puzzles and Sudoku, stuff like that. He is amazed at my ability to do logic puzzles. I love them. They remind me of the work I did in my college Algebra course. C.A. is still my favorite class ever. I loved to work problems. I loved the process of it....step by step...there was a way to do it....it is a beautiful thing. It is fun. I think the above statement just might define me as a geek.

Energetic:Possessing, exerting, or displaying energy; working vigorously.
I do have energy but as I grow older I am seeing that begin to change. There are days though when I need to be a house ape- and just hang around- in my jammies. I love these days. I still find myself with a twinge of guilt for not being more productive.

Truth is I may see myself totally different. I am not as kind as he is. I think this was a difficult assignment - not a favorite- I don't like tooting my horn but it sure was nice to hear my husband toot my horn for me.