Talent

tal·ent
noun \ˈta-lənt\

: a special ability that allows someone to do something well

I have been doing a lot of thinking about talent lately. A lot of it stems from watching my children explore the things that interest them and wondering what talents I will see emerge in them over the years. Nora, for example, is really into arts and crafts these days. Does that mean she will become a promising young artist in the future? She is definitely creative. She made this chick without any prompting or assistance from me.

I may be biased, but I thought it was pretty good.

Meredith on the other hand is my naturally athletic one. She has an innate ability to easily control her body. Of course, this doesn’t mean she will continue to enjoy this type of activity, so only time will tell what talents she will choose to pursue.

I love this type of dreaming. In my opinion, it is part of what makes the world so interesting. Everyone has something special to offer and it is uniquely them.

For example, I love to cook. I would not consider myself a bad cook, but I wouldn’t necessarily say I am talented at it. A dear friend of mine is a talented cook and I am not even in the same league. You can put an array of raw materials on the counter in front of him and you will end up with the best hummus, bread, salmon, etc… that you ever tasted. It’s delicious magic.

The other interesting thing about talent is that you do have to have a piece of it in you already. Education and practice is certainly not going to hurt, but there are some things you just can’t teach yourself… which is where the talent comes into play. Take cupcake baking for example. I make a lot of cupcakes and they are decent, but they are not my strength.

I would however, say that I have an innate artistic talent. I can take decent pictures and I am not bad with other art materials as well. Simply handing someone a digital camera does not automatically mean that they will get a great image as my mother in-law will tell you. I have always had a natural understanding of design and composition that had served me well in this arena. I am able to look at something in a way that others can not and use a pencil to transfer that to paper. I find true joy in this process, which is why I think it’s a talent that I have continued to develop and honor over the years.

Knitting, cake decorating, sewing, soccer, singing… are all things I have tried and that I enjoy to a degree, but they are not my talents. And I am glad they aren’t. Because if everyone was good at everything, we would have nothing to appreciate in one another.

I look forward to watching my children discover their talent(s)… the things that they enjoy and they feel help to define them as special people. The possibilities are endless and even more beautiful, they are infinite. You are never too old to discover your talents.

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Mommy Aches

I should probably preface this entry by saying that I am EXTREMELY aware of how lucky I am with regards to my children’s overall health. I am so very grateful for this every day. This post is in no ways meant to elevate myself into the same realm as parents who know the true heartache of hearing that their children have been diagnosed with chronic or terminal illness. Or those who fear an unknown future made more challenging by cognitive delays. No, those are completely different experiences than what I am talking about here.

What I am calling a mommy ache is that clenching feeling you get in your gut when something – no matter how seemingly insignificant – alters that ideal you have in your head as a parent regarding your children. All parents know what I am talking about.

– The first time you witness a kid at the park say or do something mean to your child and you see their sadness and incomprehension and realize you can’t protect them from that kind of hurt anymore.
– The moments when you have to put on your brave face for their vaccinations because you know it’s in their best interest when all you really want to do is just take them home.
– Any time you are holding them when they are sick or scared and you wish you could magically make it all better.

All of these are mommy aches.

My most recent one is this.

My youngest just got glasses. I was really surprised that this was a mommy ache for me. I wear contacts, my husband had significant vision problems at a young age. I should have seen it coming. But, when the ophthalmologist confirmed her astigmatism and near sightedness, I felt that tightening in my gut immediately.

I think it’s a combination of things. Knowing that she hates wearing anything on her head or face for long periods of time is part of it. But, that is about me and the work I am going to have to put in to get her to wear them. My sadness for her is knowing that this isn’t something I can fix and she will have this inconvenience (because I know that in the grand scheme of life that is all this is) from here on out.

My ideal for her was altered.

Do I feel a little ridiculous doing a little mourning for this little loss? Sure. But, it is what it is. She is incredible adorable in them though. I am also extremely grateful that she chose the ones she did, as opposed to one of the neon pink pairs she could have chosen. The stars on the sides are super cute.