DOWN IN THE VALLEY

Things I am good at:

1. Being a mama.
2. Making kids laugh.
3. Shoe tying tricks.
4. French braiding hair.
5. Push ups. Really. I'm not kidding, I will kick your ass.
6. Remembering movie lines.
7. Making lists. Multi-tasking. Organizing.
8. Back rubs, pats and scratches. A skill honed specifically by a three year old and now a 28 year old.

Things I suck at:

1. Logistics. I think my brain just hits this breaking point at a ridiculously moderate level of travel planning. I travel WELL. I just don't plan travel, uh, at all?
2. Finances. Please do not ask me to make decisions about spending money at Target, because my theory is that they employ this giant magnet that literally sucks the cash out of my purse. His name is IV.
3. Remembering historical events. It's embarrassing but, well, at least I admit it. I don't tell Veterans this information. Ever.
4. Wearing flats.
5. Relationships.

I think we are all creatures of habit...we can see the patterns traced in our lives. I have spent a lot of time lately, examining the traits I have, looking back at the amazing things I have and continue to create, the successes I find and then sometimes walk away from because I get too afraid of not protecting myself...

But you know what? I'm ready to change that. I really am. Because there is someone in my life that deserves the change...deserves the 110% effort, the selflessness, the humility that is IN me to give, that just chooses to cut and run most of the time.

Well, actually, TWO someones.

So maybe it's time to look at these lists instead:

Things Matty and Liz are good at:

1. Um, did anyone else see that we won the Eco-Duathlon together as a team? I actually just kept us from losing the lead Matty dominated over everyone.
2. Morning routines. Because, let me tell you, add two dogs and a toddler into things and it gets interesting.
3. We are pretty much perfecting the "movie-couch-wine" triple crown.
4. I'm not sure you can be BAD at it, but I'm really good at letting Matty pull me and my float around the lake, tied to the kayak while he fishes. Just sayin'.
5. Thoughtfulness. He calls to check on my parents. I bring him egg sandwiches when he's called into work on Sunday. It works. Well.
6. We have turned a dying, pathetic excuse for a yard into a pretty awesome little oasis of basil, tomatoes, lime trees and grass that's actually alive. Oh yeah, and a cannonball slip-n-slide plus 17,437 outdoor IV toys, you know, spice things up.

“We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.”