So Just.Be.Enough has started up again with their “What I Like About Me” link up and I think I’m ready to write some things down.
To be clear… this is an exercise in finding what you truly love about yourself and remembering it, writing it down so that you can look back when things get hard, or when you’re not feeling your best. A way to give yourself a virtual pep talk to remind yourself that you are AWESOME! You can do ANYTHING! You ROCK!
Yeah, I think we all need that pep talk… some days more than others.
I have been struggling a little bit lately. Exhausted, dealing with a toddler who is changing before my very eyes (and not always in a good way), kind of struggling to find my place in the world. So here is my list of things that I think are great about me… that I tend to forget about. 
1) I love to learn – Having a kid and staying at home has made my brain feel a little bit mushy. In order to combat that, I’ve made some pretty lofty goals about learning Photoshop, learning Graphic Design, learning Photography… but regardless I’ve found that every day, I want to learn. How to garden. How to run microdrip. How to organize. I just want to keep learning… keep trying new things… to keep my mind sharp. Even as it fights to slide into mushy toddler mommy brain. Just wait till I get pregnant again. Can’t wait to add pregnancy brain to the mix.
2) I’m a good mom – Most of the time. I’ve talked about how I was unprepared. I’ve talked about how we all have bad days… and trust me, the last few have not been my most shining examples of parenting. But for the most part, I’m surviving. He is thriving. He is smart, funny, loving. Of course there are moments of sheer madness, where I just want to run screaming out the door if he says NO one more time, or throws one more thing… But I think I’m doing ok at this.
3) I’ve learned to like the rain – Last year? Not so much. This year? I’ve found that I actually miss having a few rainy days. Just don’t tell my husband, he might drop dead from shock.
4) I have learned how to communicate with my husband – It sounds so dang simple, yet is so hard to achieve. Talking. Communication. Learning to say things to each other that aren’t mean, aren’t in anger, aren’t so hurtful that you can’t take them back. We have grown so much in our years together and I’m proud of myself and my ability to talk to him, especially when it’s not something I want to talk about. Because confrontations make me want to dig a hole and hide in it. But I’m getting SO much better at just the simple act of communicating with the guy. Now if only the toddler and I could communicate so well.
4) I am a terrible housekeeper… but I TRY – It’s true. I suck at keeping this house in order. I’m scatter brained, totally ADD when it comes to multiple tasks (hence all of the lists) and I HATE doing certain things (laundry anyone??). But I have embraced it as a necessity. I have recognized that I take pride in my house looking nice for guests, or looking good when the hubby comes home. I realize how happy it makes HIM when things are clean and uncluttered and I’m really trying to make that happen. Even if I suck at it. Because I love him… and I want him to be happy. But yardwork? Ain’t gonna happen. That’s his job.
5) I’ve learned how to take a great picture – I’ll never stop learning about photography, but I’m getting good. At least good enough to hang stuff on our walls and be proud of what I see.
6) I’ve learned how to let go – I used to take a lot of shit from people because I felt like I needed to hold onto old times. That I needed to hold onto my past, especially being so far away from where I went to school and made all of my friends. But I realize that I am enough. My past is in my past and the memories are enough for me. Those were great times and amazing people but I have moved onto another chapter of my life and don’t need people around me that don’t love me for who I am.
7) I’ve learned to love food – I don’t just post those recipes for my health. I LOVE food now. It’s no longer the enemy it used to be. I LOVE to cook. I LOVE to try out new things in the kitchen, to make awesome meals for my family every night. To nourish them and to force my toddler to eat food he’s never tried. (Because I’m TOTALLY mean like that.) Because I think that learning to love food is important, and learning how to nourish your body well is even more so. I’ve embraced eating, where before I used to fear it.
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So those are the things I can think of now, on only one cup of coffee. I hope that there are more, more things that I discover as I go along with my life, more things that I uncover in the heat of an argument, or in the midst of battle with my toddler. Strengths I didn’t know existed.
We shall see… but for now? I’ll take what I’ve got.
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Interested in linking up with Just.Be.Enough? Share what you love about yourself…
The link will be open until Friday, March 2nd at 11:59 pm EST… so you have another day to unearth all of those awesome qualities.
