The following are more questions from Cheryl at Flyover People.

Does Rabbit have a stuffed bunny collection?
Oddly enough, I was getting ready to answer “no” until I took a mental inventory of her stuffed animals, which include Bear Bear (the Christmas bear that Santa personally delivered to her), Piggy (from Grandma Judy)…and a white stuffed bunny rabbit she sleeps with.  There’s also a tiny stuffed bunny she got from the CAT scan tech at the hospital last spring, and a little stuffed bunny rabbit that came in an Easter basket she got a long time ago.  I don’t suppose three constitutes a collection, but I don’t think she has three of any other animal. 

When you were very little, do you remember if it took awhile to learn who was who among the 10 siblings that are older than you?
It didn’t take long at all.  In fact, when you grow up with something being normal to you, it’s just normal.  I had only one younger sibling but ten older siblings, and the youngest of them was still five years older than I was.  There were distinct personalities and I never confused Two with Seven, or Two and Three, or Five and Six.  My oldest sister moved away from home when I was very little and the rest left one after another for the next thirteen years.  It was always a process of losing a sibling to the outside world, but then gaining an in-law and then nieces and nephews. 

Being in a big family made me better at recognizing different personality types and traits, dealing with different methods of communication, being more accommodating when conflict arose.  I knew what you could say to one sibling that you couldn’t say to another.  I knew which one liked which kind of music, which one was good at artwork, which one would read me a story and which one would smack me on the back of the head if I were a pest.  I knew which ones would ignore me and which would listen, which ones had good junk food at their house and which ones ate organic and vegetarian.  Who could take a joke, and who couldn’t…who cried at the least thing, and who was a stoic.  Who caused laughter and who caused tears. 

Although we’re not all as close as our parents might want, we still know each other better than anyone else.  We may not know any more what kind of snacks are at a given sibling’s house, but hypothesize a situation and we can fairly accurately predict how each sibling will react. 

Do you feel any special connection with Mother Mary because you share the name?
Not particularly; where I live, there are so many Marys that it just became a name.  Even when I hear songs with my name in them, it doesn’t register.  Although a couple of my youth retreat kids call me “Mother Mary” because I think of them as surrogate children of my own.  (Alyssa, I know you’re nodding your head…)

What song would be a good theme song for you?
I have been thinking about this all day.  I have no idea.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Bonus Question: Who’s your favorite singer on American Idol this year?
Hands down, Crystal Bowersox.