She's Got Skills

Ever have one of those days where you sleep too little, get up too early, and spend the first part of the day in a funk where it seems like you can't do anything right?

I mean, honestly, how did I drop soy sauce off the top of the refrigerator 5 minutes after I left the kitchen? That was a nice loud crash, resulting in a cracked soy sauce kid and a giant blackened puddle on the floor. 

That was my day today. Crikey. Almost as soon as I woke up I was ready for a restart or at least nap time. I had a negative view of myself and my abilities as a mom at 8:30am as I tried to convince Spencer, who usually wants to try to sneak out of the house to play outside, that we should go play outside. It was going to be sweltering in the afternoon and wanted him to hace somefresh  air. He fought me on it for 45 minutes. 

 

 It was mind boggling, and I swore that whatever the reason was stemmed from my sucktastical skills as a mom. I eventually, after tears on both our parts, realized he was mad about having to wear clothes, and we compromised for just shorts and sunscreen. (By the way, sunscreen in Spencer's opinion, is a torture mechanism...)

Whoofta.

Nap time approached, and despite a bit of resistance, SJ went down and Collin was out for the count, so I was thinking that I would get to nap. Not so much, because by the time I was relaxed, Collin woke inconsolable, and by the time he was asleep again, I was on my third wind. So, I decided to work on cutting some fabric for the quilt I'm working on for a customer. (I do that, and many other things, now. Check them on Spenk & Ollie Creations on Facebook if you'd like.)

As I was cutting (fabric). I was revisiting the morning and again, dwelling on the ways I feel incompetent and inadequate. 

Then, it hit me (thanks, God, for the whisper), that although I may not be good at everything, and at times I feel a failure, even as a mom, I am good at things. I have skills, strengths, talents, etc.

And in order to change my mood around, I decided I should focus on those instead.

I decided to list the first 10 things that I am good at on paper. 

Now, I know this probably will sound like bragging, but... I decided sometimes, so long as you aren't doing to be pompous or make others feel bad, it's okay to highlight what you're good at. While it took a bit to pin down 10, due to my mood, by the time I was done, I had more I could have listed on my mind. Things that I used to do, for example, that I know I am talented at and miss doing- writing poetry or creating hand-bound journals, for example. Or other random little things like for the most part, I'm pretty good at deciphering Spencer-Speak. 

The list in the picture goes as follows:

1- sewing (at least easier things, I can't make a parks, sorry)

2- making people laugh (Collin will laugh if I chant "Ice, Ice Baby," I'm that awesome)

3- photos (I can even take decent to good photos with my cell phone, which is great as its all I have currently)

4- cooking (I specialize in creating soups, and baked buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese)

5- snuggling (yup, I will consider that a skill)

6- writing (by hand, by blog, etc.)

7- listening (for the most part, sometimes I admittedly don't hear something Jake tells me... but I've been told by friends they appreciate my listening ear)

8- artsy stuff (like doodling, drawing, painting... all of which I rarely do anymore)

9- caring (even for people I've never met, read some of my blogs on marriage or slavery for example)

10- teaching my kids (a team effort between Jake and I, of course, but I think we have taught Spencer quite a bit already and he's only 2.5)

And I decided that its okay to feel like I am good at more than ten things. In fact, it's great! I think it's important to focus on that sometimes. Don't you?

I invite you, whether you're having a good or bad day, low-esteem or high-esteem, to list ten things you are good at. Big things like being able to fix a car, or little things like being able to organize the mail (Im not good at that) or painting your nails (I am becoming good at that, and I used to be a nail biter). Recognize your skills. Pat yourself on the back. You are awesome. I hope you realize it.

If you feel comfortable, feel free to share your 10 things below.

Back to sewing. Peace.