Yesterday I overheard two women talking in the locker room at the gym. They were chatting about holiday preparations. One would tell the other something they were doing to get ready for the holidays and then the other would reciprocate. The thing I found the most interesting during my sweaty, eaves-dropping was that both women were telling the other how they wish they could do what the other one was doing. (On a side note–I was pretty in awe of both of their ambitious holiday plans.) There were sighs of longing involved–mine and theirs.
But it got me thinking. They both were proficient, talented in completely different areas. And my first thought was that they should both be proud of what they can do. Gosh–both of them were better prepared for the holidays than I am. But the truth is, there are people out there who think I have my holiday preparation shit together. They envy me! (FYI–I love those people) So, still pumped up on my running high I decided I should be proud. We all should be proud. Too often we focus on what we can’t do. We fixate on our weaknesses. We lack appreciation for the things we excel at. Life is hard enough some days. Why do we do that to ourselves?
And because my mind works like snow in the wind–drifting into ever changing patterns–I came to another realization as I watched the ladies chatter.
We are pieces of a whole.
Our strength is that we are the sum of our differences, not the accumulation of our sameness.
We can’t all be good at the same things, but we can all be good at something. And hell, if we work together, we can probably get ALL THE STUFF DONE.
And then, because I left my water bottle in the car (I’m a forgetful creature) and was dying of thirst, I decided further enlightenment would have to wait. But that’s okay, because today I decided I might not be half bad at disseminating random nuggets of wildly caught wisdom. And I make killer chocolate chip cookies for the holiday–when I get around to doing it. Whatever. I rock!
What piece of awesome are you bringing to the whole? Don’t tell me what you can’t do. I want to hear what you’ve got to offer the world today.
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I am the best husband in the world 🙂 I love my wife and I tell her. I think she’s beautiful and I tell her. I appreciate the work she does for our family and – you guessed it – I tell her.
I’m always trying to think of little things I can do to make her life easier; dishes, warm up her car or – her favorite – I lay on her side of the bed while she taker her contacts out and brushes her teeth just so she can slip into a warm bed.
We’ve been married for 11 years now and I’ve felt this way every day. I sincerely love loving her 🙂
And by the way, I can make a bed better than anyone also. Hospital corners, inverted topsheet, proper tension an tucking. “Can’t touch this!” Insert parachute pants here.
Carrying on in Cary, NC,
Jim Preis
Jim!!!!! I’m sure you can’t even imagine the ripple effect that comes from your love for your wife. I believe it’s so much bigger than you can imagine. And I always wanted a pair of parachute pants!! You ROCK!!!! I’m not a bed warmer myself, but I buy everyone the fuzziest sheets ever. :o)
So very true! I’ve never been terribly organized about holiday prep (guess you could call me Christmas “pantser”), but I’ve come to terms with it. I don’t stress it nearly as much now as I did when the kids were little. I just do what I can, and then sit back and enjoy the mess. *grin*
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours! 🙂