Blogging memes are like recommendation letters: I’m flattered when someone asks me to write one, but the execution of said assignment is usually more difficult — and often more tedious — than it at first seems. Which is why I never do them. Memes, at least. I’ll still write a recommendation letter, and take a horrifying amount of time making sure that every phrase is perfect and every comma is in its proper position. If you don’t get the job or the college admission, I’d rather not have that on my conscience. A meme, though? I usually just read everybody else’s answers and hope the person who assigned it soon forgets that they tagged me. If I can’t make it interesting, I don’t address it.

Because of this I’ve gained a reputation for lack of follow-through when it comes to blogging memes and email forwards. My friend Katie recently sent around an internet questionnaire in which she answered the question “Which of the recipients of this message is least likely to pass it on?” with, of course, my name. And she was right, because while I read all her answers and even intended to answer them, I never actually brought myself to follow the rules and send it on. Soon it was buried under all the new fodder in my inbox — and, until this very moment, it was buried in my memory, too. (Sorry, Katie.)

This is why when my friend Natalie tagged me for the meme in which I describe my life in six words, it’s no surprise that I vowed to do it and then promptly (almost) forgot about it. But when thoughts of it floated into my mind this afternoon as I was driving home from work, and I realized that the following sentence had exactly six words, I knew I had to follow through. It was too easy not to. Plus, I also don’t like to break promises, even though I knew Natalie was too nice to keep score. So here you go. My life in six words:

Memes and forwards end with me.

And, yes, for such a short meme, I managed to write a lot of words about it. But my task is officially almost over. I’ve done it. And if I can, you can, too. If you’re lucky, maybe you already have. And if you’re unlucky, you’re one of the following people, and have now been given the task of defining your life in six or fewer words: Katie (it’s only fair), Robin, Christa, Emily, Mel. If I didn’t tag you, it’s not because I don’t love you. I do. But I had to stop before I got tag-happy.

Okay, go to it, ladies! If you want. After all, who am I to retaliate if you don’t? Here are the guidelines:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play. (This last step is optional.)

By the way, if you enjoy six-word memoirs, you check out the book Not Quite What I Had in Mind. It’s a collection of six-word memoirs by some famous — and some not-so-famous — people. I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds intriguing.