Tagged, and “it” are horrible left-over memories from my childhood. Gym class remains the bad dream I continue to have and I’d describe the adult form, but Erika did it so nicely yesterday, I’ll send you there. But, I love all those forwarded group emails about favorites and “or”s as in, “cake or pie?” and this is kind of like that. Megan, who is not the kind of girl to hit you in the head with a playground ball, tagged me yesterday so here we go:

What were you doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago almost to the day I was quitting my job at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation where I worked in Grants Administration. I was doing my little part of saving the world until my world was turned upside-down by the arrival of the eldest Blandings boy. Suddenly youth and entrepreneurship took a back seat to independent play and the number of words an eighteen month old should be stringing together.  (One of my best friends and I quit the Foundation almost simultaneously; I’m sure our husbands must have bemoaned our postpartum panic, the loss of steady income and the unbelievable benefits.)

Five items on your to-do list today.

I operate so much better with lists, but I’m sometimes lax about making them:

1. Take two of my children and two of their friends to Oceans of Fun.

2. Do not lose any children at Oceans of Fun.

3. Father’s Day gift for Mr. Blandings

4. Bill clients (I very, very bad at paper work.)

5. Pack for Flint Hills weekend. (Stay-tuned, more on this next week.)

Snacks I enjoy.

My day can sometimes entail moving from one snack to another, but if I have to pick one (and I don’t) it would be Dark Chocolate M&Ms.

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Well, the “b” certainly opens up the possibilities. Travel more. Start my own little jewel-of-the-month club. But don’t forget, I worked in philanthropy, and if my bank account ever looked like Oprah’s, I have always said I would focus my giving on neighborhood development. You need to love where you live.

Speaking of, places I would live.

I lived in Atlanta until I was eight, then moved to Tulsa, but visited my dad in Dallas.  As a by-product of my highly anxious nature I never felt exactly home.  In Kansas City I became a grown-up, got married and had my children, not necessarily in that order.  I have an undeniably outstanding group of friends.  I could get a ride to the airport, emergency child care or a casserole with one phone call.  Sometimes without.  I don’t just live here, it’s my home.  (Mr. Blandings and I have an inside joke about my going to Santa Fe, but that is another story for another day.)

I do have a bit of that last one picked feeling.  Give me your thoughts on who you’d like me to tag and I’ll choose from there.  Oh, and between cake and pie?  Always cake.