2. I've always had a natural talent for sports. Perhaps it was the tomboy gene that I got in spades, but no matter what sport I tried, I could always do it very well. I could hit a baseball, throw a pretty good spiral pass, run like the wind, swim like a fish with nary a lesson, do a decent one and a half of the high board at age 10, hit a mean ping-pong game, get right up on my first water-ski attempt, ice skate, roller skate, etc. All sport transported me into another world of sweat, exertion, accomplishment, and the joy of competition. I miss it, but the only thing that really appeals to me now would be tennis, which I miss horribly. Wrist horrors now prevent that. If I lost some weight, and got my breath back, I'm sure that if I attempted a new sport, even at 54, I could do well.
3. I like that I learned to french braid hair. I think it looks pretty and it brought me many fun hours with my daughter as she grew up, using it as an excuse for her to sit with me and allow me to play in her hair while she watched tv.
4. I will always be grateful that I took typing in school. Who knew that it would come in so handy in an undreamed of then, computer age. So many friends and colleagues hear me click-clacking away at work and moan that they wish they'd had the forethought to learn it when they could. I like that I know how to do it.
5. Learning to drive a stickshift is one of life's great pleasures. Before I could do it, I used to have many dreams where I was speeding down a long, straight highway, feeling that deeply satisfying answer from the engine as it is finally allowed to shift into third, then, aaaaaah fourth. I couldn't wait to learn, if only to feel that "aaaaah" of the engine as it relaxes from the scream at the top of third to the purr of fourth. I learned stick from my dad using my first car, a 1972 Chevy Nova with the stick in the steering column and a clutch about 2 miles from the floorboard that I had to practically stand on to operate. We went to a parking lot behind the Kinnard's building on 21st and Blair, practicing parking, shifting, and the dreaded uphill start. To this day, it is one of my favorite skills I possess and I think all people should know how to drive a stick shift. I hate owning an automatic car.
6. Apparently, I possess what's known as relative pitch, which means I think music would have come easy to me if I had stuck with some sort of lessons. I've always heard the right notes in my head and can find them on the piano, or can recreate a note if you played it hours before. I can hear it and be right on pitch. But I think my hearing loss has affected this because I notice now, when I sing along to stuff, I tend to be a bit off, flat I think, which makes me sad. Still, it's always something I enjoyed about myself.
7. I can make a mean soup, pretty much any description. I think I cook well in general. One of the best days I can have is to hole up in my kitchen on a rainy day, put on a book on tape, and cook all day, whipping up one recipe after another and freezing it in portions for future lunches or dinners. Add a glass of wine, and that's a perfect way to spend the day. I think I have good instincts about what's tasty food-wise. Except for boiled eggs, cilantro, beets, or liver. Those you can have.
8. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply now, but I was always thrilled that I could make my dad laugh. I made him laugh his whole life and he was always my best audience. I enjoy making other people laugh and am witty and quick (most of the time) but he was the one, and probably still is in my head, who I perform for. He had this deep chuckle that gently percussioned out of him like a timpani roll, and then I knew I had him.
9. I have an independent streak that, depending on who you talk to, has proven to be a life-saver time and time again. "Let me do it" has been a refrain of mine since childhood and my mother will tell many stories of my stubborn refusal to allow anyone to help me. "I want to do it myself" while trying for those who love me, has given me a lifetime of small triumphs. I know I'll never climb Everest or read every book I want, but I do like that I rely on myself to do what needs to be done to survive. More and more help is allowed now, particularly as I age, but my desire not to rely on others, or bother others, or to appear weak, or whatever any hidden motives might be, has brought me many hours of inner satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
10. I send out yearly Christmas cards. It makes me happy. I know I should spare the trees used to scratch this itch, but I am stubbornly hanging on to this tradition. People need to feel a little paper "hug" each year, even if I haven't seen them for years. I want them to know I think of them and want to at least check in. Emails just don't carry the same feeling for me. Just like reading books uses up trees too, I could just never read books on the computer. I have to feel the heft of the book in my hand, I have to turn the page, I have to write notes in the margins. (I know - gasp. I'm one of those.) The cards give me pleasure as I think what to write to each person in my own hand, addressing the envelope, putting them in the mailbox sending them on their way. I like that I do this.
11. I created and protect family traditions for my children as they grew up and it has made all the difference. They are 30 and 27 now and still want the traditions practiced as if they were back in their footed pajamas days. I know beyond a doubt that it cements us as a family to this day, and to see the traditions I started being carried on to my grandchild makes me happier than I can say. I am surprised at how many parents don't do traditions of any sort in their families and it always made me feel like a good parent for making sure they were an integral part of my children's experience.
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Quote of the day: Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. Author unknown.Chosen because I need this as a daily reminder and it helps.
