Things I Like About Me

Today, inspired by my friend Lindsay, I'm linking up with the blog, Just.Be.Enough., to eek out a little love for myself. 

 

This concept goes so against my natural tendency toward self-deprecation and my total inability to take compliments. It would be far easier and much more fun for me to make a list of things I'm not good at or wish I could change about myself. But over the last couple of years, I've felt who I am as a person slightly slipping away in the face of my quest to give myself over completely to the job, privilege, joy of being "Wilder's mama." 

Although I absolutely love staying home with Wilder and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, for me, being a stay-at-home-mama makes it all the more difficult to find an identity outside of that. I think a list of things I like about myself will be a good start to remembering who I was for the 27 years prior to the earth shaking event that is becoming a mother. So here goes...

1) My one big talent is editing. I can read anything once and almost always find one or more typos, grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors, or inconsistencies even in things that would have (or should have) been proofread over and over before being published. The most recent example would be The Hunger Games trilogy and don't get me started on Nicholas Sparks' novels -- my misty eyes can't even obscure the errors in those books, although I do love them ;) And it's not just books, it's signs, brochures, websites, pretty much anything in written form. It's a blessing and a curse really, but I do like it about myself.

2) I'm not a girly girl. Although there's nothing wrong with that, for me, I like that I'm fairly low maintenance. Growing up with a brother taught me to be tough and hang with the boys and I think perfectly prepared me to be a mom to a little dude. 

3) I'm good at driving. Although Paul might beg to differ on this point, he can't deny that he has relinquished the driver's seat on more than one occasion when it's time to parallel park. And if we're in a hurry to get somewhere, it's going to be me driving. I guess it helps that I've been driving the same car for the last ten years because I can squeeze into parking spaces and out of traffic jams like nobody's business. 

4) I am an encourager. I love to make people feel good about themselves and encourage them to do what they love and be who they want to be. 

5) I am a positive thinker. I'm always searching for the good things in every situation. Silver linings are a specialty of mine. 

6) I'm a nice person but I'm not afraid to stand up for myself (or anyone else). I'm polite but not too polite to keep my mouth shut when something's just not right. 

7) I feel things deeply. Sometimes I wish I didn't care so much about what is fair or right, especially when there's nothing I can do to change the situation, but I guess I'd rather feel things than be numb or jaded. 

8) I'm not competitive. Although I think a little competitive spirit might take me further in life, I've learned to accept this fact about myself and embrace it. I'm glad to not be a slave to the desire to be the best. 

9) I love food but I've never struggled with my weight. I'm not prone to overeating and I'm not tempted by sweets and I'm infinitely thankful for that about myself. 

10) Last but not least: I'm a great mom. Although I know I still have a lot to learn, I'm pretty proud of the job I've done so far. And I'm especially proud that I've done a good job while living nearly 2,000 miles away from anyone I can drop Wilder off with if I want to go get my hair did or just collapse on the sofa for an hour.

So there they are. Some things I don't dislike about myself. It was touch and go for a minute there. By #5 I was really struggling to come up with things but somehow I made it to 10 and, I have to say, I feel pretty good about myself now. I think we could all benefit from reminding ourselves of our good qualities every now and then. 

The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Want to make your own list? Link up with Just.Be.Enough. by clicking here.