You've Gotta Work With What You've Got

I've only ever made one New Year's resolution in my life.
Why would I, a procrastinating, compulsive-rule-breaking, homebody, vow to do something I already vow and fail to do everyday of the year?  Why make a big show of it on January 1st....or 2nd?  And then feel like a big pile of useless crap for lack of performance.  It does not work.

That model does. not. work.

That one and only resolution was to shave my legs every single day.  We were still newlyweds, hence the vow of hairless-ness.  We were already living in Boston, but I don't remember if Li'l Bit had been born yet.  (I doubt it.)  I proclaimed this one resolution to Shelley Renee, and simply because she laughed, I succeeded for a good two months.  It was nothing less than a small miracle.  Alas, two months of silky, smooth legs is more than my husband would ever dream of nowadays.  I hope he enjoyed it.

Other than that one year, I've known better than to allow the calendar to dictate my comings and goings.  Weight loss, organization, boring reading, going to bed on time, reading the Bible front-to-back, blah, blah, blah....  Yes, I want to do those things everyday.  And I don't.  I binge on toffee bars and Indian food, I leave the dining room table covered in yesterday's worksheets, all the Harvard Classics look awesome on my shelf, and I'm lucky to even be in the same room with my smart phone when it reads the Bible to my kids.
But this year.  This year is different.  And let me tell you why.
This year, I'm going to enforce what I learned last year.  (Typical, right?)
I am going to play to my strengths.
My full-time job is educating my kids.  Because it's my kids, I feel like I shouldn't harp on it.  And because working moms have full-time jobs that don't "involve" their kids, they feel they shouldn't harp on it.  Let's just talk shop, and not worry about what anyone thinks.

I have spent so much time trying to make my weaknesses my strengths.  It is not my strength to start lessons at the same time everyday.  It is not my strength to follow the curriculum guide, brush my girls' hair twice a day, de-clutter the corner of any room in my house while teaching the kids to do the same thing.  These are not things I do well on a consistent basis.  I think horrible things to myself because I don't do these things well.

I realized during last Spring's semester that I was focusing on my weakness.  I was putting all my energy into making those terrible things my awesome things.  Then it hit me one day: I already have awesome things.  I'm killing myself because I can't turn my weaknesses around, but I already have strengths that I can do and that I enjoy doing!  Why in the world would I not focus on those things?  That is messed up.

I love reading to my kids.  (For hours, I can read to my kids!)  I love teaching my kids about the great artists and musicians.  I love taking them to see THAT painting or THAT concert we've studied for weeks and then see their reaction to it.  I love teaching my kids at the windy beach or in the green, green woods.  I love finding the most loving families with whom my family can commune.  I love talking to my kids about the chemistry of food and how relationships work....and on and on and on.  I love talking about the things I love.  I'm only stopping because they are probably not the things you love, and I'm not saying all this to make you feel like your things are crap.  They aren't!  They are nuggets of gold to me!  I need to see them and learn from them and put my kids beneath their glow!

My point is this:  God has given each of us gifts.  Some of them overlap; some of them are juxtaposed.  We each must vow to embrace our individual strengths and then share them!  Please share your gifts with me! And I promise to not be too scared to share mine with you.  I'll swear that your gold is finer than mine, but who cares.  We'll always have our issues.  Let's enjoy each other's gold and just glow with it.  (I'm sorry.  I seriously cannot help myself.)