Katdish: Your questions answered (Part Two)

If you missed the first riveting installment of my answers to reader questions, you can find it here.

Now, let's do this thing...

Helen asked...
First of all, I know the answer to the last two. :-) Your favorite other blog is fottsp, and your favorite commenters ignore your feelings about emoticons and leave them anyway ;-) because you secretly enjoy being annoyed. Not pissed. Just annoyed.

I am constantly amazed how well Helen knows and understands me. If I were a terrorist, forget water boarding. If you want to get the truth out of me, just ask my friend Helen!

Next she asked,
My question for you is if you were ADD as a child, and what that was like. As a teacher, I have worked with students who have ADD, and I have struggled with expectation. I wanted to be compassionate to their needs without expecting less of them. How did you cope? Did any of your teachers work with you in such a way as to improve your confidence then (and how did they do that)? Do you have any advice to give teachers with students who have ADD in their class?

I suppose I was ADD as a child, but I wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my early 20’s. Things are so different now. I actually was a model student until junior high school. What I heard constantly from all of my teachers was, “You’re so smart. If you would only apply yourself, there’s no limit to what you could do.” Which I translated into, “You are so lazy. Why can’t you get your head out of the clouds and concentrate?” Advice for teachers? Try to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, and understand that as frustrating as it is to work with an ADD child, it pales in comparison to the frustration that child is feeling about themselves. Encourage, encourage, encourage.

Beth asked...
If you could have dinner with any three people...alive, dead, characters, real people...ANYone, who would it be?My husband got asked this on an actual interview. His reply was, "Jesus, Michael Stipe, and Homer Simpson." I thought it was an excellent answer, but he didn't get the job...??

Excellent question! As much as I look forward to meeting Jesus, I know I will someday. So I can wait for that. I would love to have dinner with Peter (the disciple – sorry Peter P., I’d love to have dinner with you someday, too. And if I’m ever out in California, I promise to take you and your wife to a lovely dinner.), Erma Bombeck and Stephen King.

Beth also asked:
Oooo...I have a real one, too. When did you get diagnosed with A.D.D. As a kid? As an adult? What was that like?

As I mentioned before, I was in my early 20’s when I was diagnosed. I’ll never forget it. I was watching ABC’s 20/20, and John Stossel was doing a story about Adult ADD. I sat there watching and began to weep. I knew that was what I had been struggling with my entire life. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. All the guilt, doubt and self-loathing I had carried felt a whole lot lighter. I still had to be officially diagnosed, and back then it was a fairly involved process, but just knowing what I was dealing with was a huge breakthrough.

bman asked...
Why did you first start blogging?

As I answered Billy’s question, it was another way to express myself, but I was really just flying by the seat of my pants.

Nick the Geek asked...
Did you inhale? Yes.

How do you define "is?" I’m glad my kids were too young to ask what all the hub bub was about back then. That’s all I have to say about that.

Oh wait these are questions for a certain past president ...

What do you do when it is so hot you can't move and so humid the air is more like the swimming pool?

I miss living in a place that has four seasons and thank God for air conditioning (and that I’m not in Oklahoma).

jasonS asked...
When you think of childhood, what's the first memory that pops in your head?
I’m going to defer to my ADD here and say that several memories pop into my head:

My mom always making time for not only her own kids, but everyone else's, too. This is our house in Charlotte, NC and I'm the adorale one with the long hair.


Four seasons - sigh... (pigtails, end of the bench)

And hanging out with my whole fam damily: mom, dad, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters and cousins. We vacationed together, visited each other's houses all the time. They were best friends who had to like me because they were family.

(I'm the one closest to the door.)

Also, have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Never danced with the devil in the pale moonlight, but I’ve had some ex-boyfriends that fit the description nicely.

Ha, another Jack Nicholson movie reference (I knew you were all about those). :I (my emoticon quit emoting)

That's not really a question, Jason.

Jewda asked...
Can I leave several questions? Yes? Thanks.

1. Do you ever have to defend your A.D.D.-ness to your parents, or do they agree? (My mom swears I can't be ADD just b/c I got good grades).

Honestly? My family thinks they have me all figured out. Nothing I could say to them could convince them otherwise. Maybe it’s like this in many families, but when I get around my mom, dad, brother and sisters, I’m just the goofy kid sister. I’m okay with that, really. ADD? Meh…

2. What was the chicken doing when you spotted it?

Being drenched in bbq sauce and grilled to perfection.

3. What do you do for a living, besides twittering and blogging.

I paint – furniture, rooms, pictures. I’ll paint anything, really. I’m also planting a church. While that’s not a job, I spend a good amount of time involved with that.

4. What's cooler: the British or the Australian accent?

Australian. Hands down. One of the places I want to go before I die. (Again, sorry Peter P.)

JJ (Lady Di) asked...
I'm interested in your ADD too. I was diagnosed as an adult after having trouble in college. I didn't have any trouble in the lower grades because it took weeks to go over the material - in college we were lucky if it took a day and with the fact that I couldn't study for more than 15 minutes I just couldn't keep up. It still amazes me that I love school, and I'm glad that I don't have the H part of it. I wonder if anyone else that knew me (besides my family) sees the ADD in me. (I drive my hubby crazy with my subject changing while talking btw.)

Hopefully you’ve read through some of the earlier questions about living with ADD. And me too. I drive my husband nuts. But he knows well enough to stop me and say, “I can’t pick up where you left off when you started this conversation in your head.” I’m guessing you can relate to that statement.

Marni asked...
Do you cuss alot driving in Houston traffic? When I visit there, I cuss alot. Just wanted to know I'm not alone in my shame...

I cuss a #&*@ing blue streak in Houston traffic, which is why I never drive into town with my kids.

Did you know that coffee or lo-carb Monster's have the same effect on ADD adults as meds can? That's why I'm a Monster junkie. And you?

Funny you should mention that. I’ve been off my meds for the past 2 months now. I’ve been taking something on and off for the last 20 years, and I decided my body needed a break. Low carb monster is a frigintastic substitute, and I have one daily.

What movies can you recite verbatim?

Braveheart, Princess Bride, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Stripes, Caddyshack, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Raising Arizona and too many Disney films to mention.

Would you like to join mine and SFL's club we'll have in Heaven one day? We're going to go around pantsing the disciples. (Okay, actually Stacy said they wear togas, so we can't pants them, so maybe we'll just roll their mansions). At any rate, are you in?

Oh, I am so in. Although I’m guessing they’re probably making a segregated section for all the SCL commenters up there to keep us away from everyone else.

I would be a Bradford Pear tree. Low maintenance to grow and keep healthy and no one expects anything out of you, so you aren't hassled. What would you be?

I would be a Dogwood tree. Love those. We had those growing up in Virginia and North Carolina. It’s too stinking hot down here for them, though…

How many "drunk in public" citations have you received?

I have never received a “drunk in public” citation, but I've sweet talked my way out of a couple. I also was once ushered into the liquor room at a local nightclub during a police raid by some friendly bouncers who knew I was underage.

Good times....good times.


Okay. That's it for now. Tune in Saturday when I try to wrap this puppy up! Sheesh!