Yesterday, I received a wonderful email from my old friend Pam, updating me on her life in Georgia, her family... It made my day to hear from her! We used to live together in our old neighborhood until we both moved away. Pam was my salvage-yard buddy. I think we thought we were Rachel Ashwell going to the salvage yard and thinking about all the cool ways we could re-use some old thing. We brought home old windows, tin ceiling tiles and who knows what else. It will always be one of my favorite memories and I wish we had done it more.
Now, Pam asked me to tell her what I had been up to. Did I have any new projects I was working on...that kind of thing. I was walking my dogs this morning and thinking about what to tell her, because as usual, I have at least 20 projects I have started and stopped since we were last together. What a flake I am! I constantly beat myself up over how I am not an expert on any one thing. Why don't I just learn one thing really well??? I could say I get bored, which is true. I could also say that I have so many ideas flying through my head that I will never live long enough to do them all. I even have plans for new things to learn. I have this gut feeling I could paint and hope to take a class some day.
I came home and picked up my new favorite book by Alexandra Stoddard called "Things I Want My Daughter to Know".
Hey, this is the book I had planned to write some day for my girls. I still will...even if they are the only ones who ever read it! (This was a gift from my stepdaughter, Lindsay and what a great gift! And by the way, every one of Alexandra Stoddard's books are incredible.) Anyway, there is a chapter titled "Be More a Generalist Than a Specialist". She says that it is too bad that society pushes us all to be experts in life. For those of who are not experts on anything, this is so stressful. She suggests that to know a little about a lot of the things that interests us leads to a richer life. Thank you! On that note, I decided to make a list of things I know a little about. I am not an expert on anything so we'll leave that for now:-)
My list of little things I can do:
1.Cook...a little...with a cookbook. No experimenting here.
2.Decorate
3. Throw a cool children's party
4. Make jewelry...my new charm bracelets are kind of cool.
5. Fix jewelry...because I have not always been a great jewelry maker, I have become good at fixing broken jewelry:-)
6. Use a glue gun...hey, not everyone can and I can do amazing things with this!!!:-)
7. Paint my house...even faux finishes, if I have to
8. Refinish furniture...yep, stripping it and all that good stuff
9. Photography...I'm just learning but love it
10. Shop for vintage stuff...most people wouldn't want to take the time or effort, right?
11. Knit...a tiny bit
12. Scrapbook...well, I KNOW what to do, just don't get to it.
13. USE a computer...and waste time on it
14. Hang pictures and other simple stuff around the house
15. Garden...but I hate doing it in Florida...creepy things!
16. I love to drive...can drive anywhere...and NOT get lost:-)
17. Embellish almost anything...flip-flops, purses...
18. Make tu-tu's:-)
19. Play tennis...a little
20. Ski
I guess 20 is enough. I suggest everyone do this if you feel like me. Now I know that I haven't been wasting my time after all, I've been experimenting with my time. Big difference!
"Have a variety of interests...These interests relax the mind and lessen tension on the nervous system. People with many interests live, not only longest but happiest."
George Mathew Allen
Now, Pam asked me to tell her what I had been up to. Did I have any new projects I was working on...that kind of thing. I was walking my dogs this morning and thinking about what to tell her, because as usual, I have at least 20 projects I have started and stopped since we were last together. What a flake I am! I constantly beat myself up over how I am not an expert on any one thing. Why don't I just learn one thing really well??? I could say I get bored, which is true. I could also say that I have so many ideas flying through my head that I will never live long enough to do them all. I even have plans for new things to learn. I have this gut feeling I could paint and hope to take a class some day.
I came home and picked up my new favorite book by Alexandra Stoddard called "Things I Want My Daughter to Know".
Hey, this is the book I had planned to write some day for my girls. I still will...even if they are the only ones who ever read it! (This was a gift from my stepdaughter, Lindsay and what a great gift! And by the way, every one of Alexandra Stoddard's books are incredible.) Anyway, there is a chapter titled "Be More a Generalist Than a Specialist". She says that it is too bad that society pushes us all to be experts in life. For those of who are not experts on anything, this is so stressful. She suggests that to know a little about a lot of the things that interests us leads to a richer life. Thank you! On that note, I decided to make a list of things I know a little about. I am not an expert on anything so we'll leave that for now:-)My list of little things I can do:
1.Cook...a little...with a cookbook. No experimenting here.
2.Decorate
3. Throw a cool children's party
4. Make jewelry...my new charm bracelets are kind of cool.
5. Fix jewelry...because I have not always been a great jewelry maker, I have become good at fixing broken jewelry:-)
6. Use a glue gun...hey, not everyone can and I can do amazing things with this!!!:-)
7. Paint my house...even faux finishes, if I have to
8. Refinish furniture...yep, stripping it and all that good stuff
9. Photography...I'm just learning but love it
10. Shop for vintage stuff...most people wouldn't want to take the time or effort, right?
11. Knit...a tiny bit
12. Scrapbook...well, I KNOW what to do, just don't get to it.
13. USE a computer...and waste time on it
14. Hang pictures and other simple stuff around the house
15. Garden...but I hate doing it in Florida...creepy things!
16. I love to drive...can drive anywhere...and NOT get lost:-)
17. Embellish almost anything...flip-flops, purses...
18. Make tu-tu's:-)
19. Play tennis...a little
20. Ski
I guess 20 is enough. I suggest everyone do this if you feel like me. Now I know that I haven't been wasting my time after all, I've been experimenting with my time. Big difference!
"Have a variety of interests...These interests relax the mind and lessen tension on the nervous system. People with many interests live, not only longest but happiest."
George Mathew Allen
I think I have that book as well- my sister-in-law gave it to me. It's a great read!
ReplyDeleteI like your list- you're right that learning a little about many things makes life more interesting than only knowing one thing well.
Great mermaid picture! Very cute!
Suzanne- that's pretty cool that you made the switch! The area we live in has a ton of homeschoolers. I have met SO many that have homeschooled through highschool. Some of the librarians, the person who did our countertop in our kitchen... just a few of the people who have told us they homeschooled until college. They did it during the 80's which were a tough time for homeschoolers. We are truly blessed to live in a time where there is so much curriculum and support available!
ReplyDeleteMy husband was only on board with homeschooling through middle school when we first made the decision. Since then, he has changed his mind and is all for homeschooling all the way.
Are you in a support group in your area? Have you atteneded your area's local conference? We went to a conference for the first time last year. The homeschooled teens from the area did all the work for it- checking people in, taking the money, giving people their info., directing where to go, ect. It was quite a sight to see how mature and responsible homeschooled teens are!
Anyway, it's great to meet you! I found your blog on the momblogs!
There should be a "follow me" link on the left side of my page by the list of followers. If I find a blog that doesn't have that link, I copy the web address up top, then go to my dashboard to click "add" in towards the middle left.