K- my linguistic training has marred me and I had to follow this all the way back to a Portuguese blog to get the original explanation and explain it more idiomatically. How pathetic is that? Everyone loves Chinese Engrish, why not English Portuguese? This blog spreads and believes in Closeness! It's all about sharing and bringing people together, in a nutshell.Darla over at Tortoise in the Fast Lane gave me this award and tagged me with the infamous 7 random things about me. Darla is really amazing and one of my favorite posts of hers is this one. (Check it out) So, I must be real random to get this so much, but I will put a little twist on it. I will tell 7 things I started doing but stopped doing. This is really convenient, because I don't have to think about it. (Off the top of my head I could name about 100 things.) I was already working on some posts related to this, so I will just link to the old ones, and add on the rest in a flash. Save us all a bunch of posts. Then there's a point at the end, I think.
1. I used to decorate cakes (more pics). (That's my parent's 50th anniversary, aren't they cute?)
But I never opened a shop, nor will I ever make world famous cakes that will show up on Food Network. Now I usually just slap action figures and candles on the top of cakes and call it a day.2. I used to paint, as I recently posted about (more pics).
It was a lot of fun, but I just didn't have the stamina to continue, and now I paint over stained walls instead.3. I used to be a crafting queen. Show me a new craft, I was all over it.
I'd make up my own designs and copy things from photographs. I embroidered, made scrapbooks
and cards and wrapped fancy looking gifts. too. Now I have twins. And I have stacks of photos and photo CD's, none dated nor people identified. No new albums. I see a new craft, I think-that looks fun-and move on. Now I usually give gifts in the bag it came out of the store in. I don't send out cards.4. I used to knit. I had a companion on my mission who taught me and helped me knit my first sweater. I would insert the picture here if I could find it. (see #3) Then I made another sweater after I got home.
(Don't laugh at us, it was still the 80's. We were little kids! Why do they let little kids get married like that!) I thought I would make all my kids outfits. I decided to knit some pants for my oldest when she was about a year old. She grew into them when she was 5. But they kept stretching along with her for a few years. I can't find a picture of them either. I knit a little outfit for my second before he was born. 
It fit for a whole 2 weeks. Then I fizzled. It was a short and rocky career. I always wanted a knitting machine so I could make the kids things to wear, figuring it was much faster. Probably a good thing I never got it. I have a sewing machine. I made a few things for Enigma. 
Now I tape up hems.5. I used to be an entertainer of sorts. I would sing, and occasionally, act. I wasn't ever going to be famous for my singing, but I was in school choirs and sang in ensembles at different events and church functions on occasion. I was in a community production of The Music Man and had a lot of fun. I went to speech tournaments and even won a trophy for a dramatic rendition of something or another. I never tried out for another play or took classes, because I was just too busy or lazy or something. If I had the determination, I would have gotten into the choirs in college or taken more than a semester of voice, but I kept getting distracted by my other pursuits. (Too much dating.) Sorry, no sound byte. Maybe I'll tape something someday. If I ever remember to sing. My kids have usually told me to shut up when I sing or to turn off the music when I play it. They have sensitive ears. Eventually, with age, it wears off, but I just recently got to where I could sing without being banished. I'm not sure if I still have a voice. The only acting I do now is pretending to remain calm when shopping with all five kids, or while trying to stop my kid from wriggling out of a papoose and out of the hands of 3 medical assistants, just to get his blood drawn, or while pretending to be a monster, chasing the kids to bed.
6. I was such an athlete (In my dreams). On a whim, I tried out and got on the drill team in high school. No previous training in dance or anything. Did I go on to join the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? Heck, no. Truly, it's a good thing I didn't even aspire to that one, I would be a frustrated individual. I didn't even do much with dance other than fulfill my P.E. requirements with a class or two in college.
I never went on to be a basketball star after winning the regional fifth grade basketball shooting competition, either.
7. Now, I do a few more things: I interpret. I'm not a bad interpreter. Many have complimented my work. Everyone thinks I'm really good. But, I know just how pee wee I am at the whole thing. Because I know how much better I could do if I had the dedication to squeeze in the continuing education and follow up on things I learn along the way necessary for true greatness in the field. Really, I probably have the potential deep within me to be a hot-shot UN interpreter, but heaven knows I will NEVER put in the effort necessary to get there. I just do passable work while sleepwalking due to sheer innate ability. I even consider going into another more stable line of business sometimes. Of course, I don't do that, because there's the mom thing consuming most of my time and money. Sooner or later, I will lose my mind or retire or both. I won't be an interpreter any more.
I think I'm doing a fairly decent job as a mom. I know I'm doing the best job I can. (Which sincerely makes me cry sometimes because I wish my best were so much better.) Still, I doubt I'll ever get a mother of the year award. I'm just content to know that probably, my kids won't destroy the world and most likely will be happy contributing members of society. At least that's what I think on a good night. When they're all sleeping. Even if they cause some global disaster, I feel pretty fulfilled with all that I have pulled off as a mom so far. I definitely wouldn't change this job for anything. My kids will grow up, and I will always be their mom, but it won't be a full time career any more.
I also like to write. I discovered that I'm not too terrible at it. I mean, there's potential there. I found a paper I wrote in college recently. It was so amazing, it had all these big intellectual thoughts and words in it and it was written so eloquently. I didn't remember that I used to be able to string words together so well. I would post it if it were in English and if I hadn't lost it again after I read it. If I really wanted to, I could learn to write really good, I think. Sometimes, that sounds like a fun thing to do. Except, I just barely have time to think about learning to write. The thought of writing a book makes my head hurt. Blogging fills my writing urge without the pain of an editor and publisher or having to achieve greatness or anything. And I can't even bring myself to be a professional blogger or do anything classy like design my own template. Not that I don't have ideas, I just don't have the time or the knowledge to really kick things up to that notch. I don't really want to go there, ever. Unless I get bored someday. Except I do have to write a book with companion CD which is an instruction for life disguised as a cookbook for my kids before they leave the nest. I'm running out of time on that one so it may never become a reality.
SO, What have we learned except that I have ADD? I'm a true underachiever. What am I going to be great at? Maybe nothing, but do you know what my aspiration is? No matter what else I do along the way, or what life throws at me, I can keep working on this one. Every day, as I go throughout the day. My goal is to learn to love. Really love. Everybody. Even when it's not easy. Ever deeper. Like Christ loves. Perfect, pure, unconditional love, with acceptance and understanding. I'd like to make people feel like they really are wonderful and want to be their best self. I'd like to learn to know what to do to help in ways big and small at the moment, when the opportunity is there. I feel like I'm making progress, but the more progress I make, the more I realize how much more I have to learn. Except, this time I don't even give up, and I don't get sick of it. I don't even get too terribly distracted from it. I don't even get discouraged really, because the Giver of all love reminds me to have joy in all I have learned so far and all I have yet to accomplish doesn't take away from that. It doesn't matter if other people are better at loving than me, because I love learning from them, and the more people that are loving, the better the world is!! The more I learn to love, the happier I am. The more I learn about love, the more I learn about God and the more I feel closer to Him. It's really fun. And exciting. I think I might stick with this my whole life and I'm glad I'll never run out of things to learn. Love is really what makes the world go round. It's the power fueling the universe! I'm glad I was a flunkie at everything else, so I would find the real secret of life. SO, there you have it, my goal is to be the WORLD'S GREATEST LOVER.
Wait a minute... that didn't sound exactly right. Papi's getting all excited over here, so let me clarify. Papi, don't go getting your knickers in a knot. I will do my best to be a great wife, but for the rest of you, I'll be a good old friendly expert on the love of humankind. Did that sound any better?
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek
