What Are You 'Best' At?

I'mhelping my brother raise his 8 and 10 year old daughters because his wife died from cancer, and they often tell me I am the best:

*Storyteller
*Memory maker
*Helping them remember the special things about their mom.

I'm Best at unconditional love and support
I'm pretty good at cooking
I'm worst at discipline and housekeeping

Tell us about you too, R.! And thanks for the interesting post. We could all use some positive reenforcement from time to time!

I am best at loving my family. I am great finding "adventures" for us to do together, making memories, a little bit of an artistic bone in drawing, scrapbooking, and photobooks. I am good at story telling, and like someone else said, I'm also great at getting whole life stories from people in 30 minutes. My friends think I'm funny. I do have a knack for teaching. I love to love and show it in physical time, but also in letters, stories, little art projects, cooking, etc. I'm good at buying gifts and event planning, and am pretty creative.

I am great at finding a way to do or get things that look at first glance like they're out of our reach. Horseback riding lessons? (or whatever)---there is ALWAYS a way.

I don't enjoy cleaning the house (that's not true---there are some things I love to do, other things I hate), but it will be done every week regardless. I am a GREAT team player (and cheerleader when it's my husband's time to shine). I'm a very good wife, a good person.

NOT very good at a lot of things though: I am very organized, but my husband doesn't "get it". I have my own system but that doesn't mean it makes sense to the rest of the world (my address book is done by first name because I NEVER remember last names...the files are in a way that makes sense to me, but not the way it'd be in an office, that kind of thing). Not good at being told "no". I don't like that. Not very good at patience or sticking with a project long---when I start something, I will work day and night to get it done while the mood is on me, because I know if I stop, I'll forget about it. I love music---all kinds---but I don't have a musical bone in my body. I can't dance well (I dance with my husband, but it's ok because he's not great either, lol), I can't play an instrument, I can harmonize well but can't lead a song to save my life. I hate small talk, but love to get to know people's stories and who they are on a deeper level. I have been trying to get on this "take care of myself" thing but keep forgetting.

I mentioned the hot mama post to my husband. He asked what I wrote in response. He didn't really say anything at the time, and I just figured he didn't have anything to say (it's girl drama, he'd say, to something like that). But that night, he surprised me with a babysitter, flowers, and he took me on a sunset boat trip and dinner by the water. He read me what he wrote (on paper, not the computer) in response to that, told me how grateful he was that I was in his life, that there's noone like me, and a lot of other things that were really nice to hear. He was totally choked up and I was seriously surprised by it, but although that post wasn't exactly uplifting, I'm glad it was put out there. I got a really nice date out of it, lol.

I am your crisis woman...

Seriously...I remain calm...cool...and collected.

I am very socially at ease...I can strike up a conversation...and get folks who 'never' talk...give me their LIFE story.

I am crafty...in the sense that someone has NOTHING from which to make a costume...etc...I can do it.

I am a good mom.

I pride myself on it.

I am proud of my kiddos for THEIR successes...and like to hope I had some small part in them.

I am FIERCELY loyal...but if you 'screw up'...I am hell to pay.

Interesting question.
michele/cat

I love being a mother. And a wife.
Most days, I'm fairly good at these jobs unless some pesky PMS gets in my way. :)
Otherwise, my 'best' would be creative problem solving, esp. around issues involving children/child care. I am very good at helping other people come up with open-ended questions when in a situation where they are needing to address group challenges sensitively. This is a hard-won skill, but has proven very helpful (or so I hear).

I'm also pretty good at making up silly songs with kids, to help move things along.

What I am horrible at: delegation. I am so damn particular about some things that delegation can be very difficult for me if it's something I deeply care about. I have wondered in the past why I've struggled so much with it: after a Myers-Briggs test, it turns out that this is just a hallmark of my temperament. Which is why I have no aspirations toward admin/director jobs and will not be seeking the US Presidency.;)

And I fail miserably at suffering fools gladly. Lifelong challenge, that.

As for parenting, according to my smart 10 year old daughter, I'm best at being a mom she is able to talk to. She can ask me anything. I'm good at doing stuff - active stuff like bike and scooter riding and going to the beach, playing on playground equipment, and getting to Black Belt ahead of her.

I'm not so good at being focused to get stuff done like homework, keeping the house clean and neat, and being creative with meals. She loves doing craft projects and she has to talk me into each one, but we've done some cool stuff together.

I suck at swearing - as in I do it way too much, and expressing my annoyance with other drivers, or just other annoying people. And I'm late, or almost late, a lot...

Spelling . . . no kidding. :)

As far as parenting, I think both my kids know that they are loved, and that I woud literally lay down my life for either one of them, or both. I see them confident in my love for them and that makes me happy.

for me, loyalty

As for a skill set, I am disappointed to say that I don't have a category where I am "best." A few "better than most," (like singing and batting) but mostly mediocre .

I am excellent at listening (I think). I really care what my friends and family have to say and try to truly listen. I think I am really good at treating my kids like people not like just kids. I am good at putting the needs of my family before myself and trying to think of what they need.

I am not so good at cleaning. I should be cleaning right now and yet I am sitting here....

Best at...baking/cake decorating. Given enough time, I can make anything in cake. I can also draw and sculpt and just about everyone assumed I would go to art school until I actually made my college decision and didn't. But I did get my portfolio accepted at 3 prestigious art schools.

Getting things done under pressure. I can literally work all night to finish a project. Just roll up me sleeves, get to work and get it done.

I'm a very good private SAT tutor...still have room to improve at classroom instruction and managing large groups of students - successfully teaching 20+ kids whose scores can start out more than 1000 points apart is an art form that I haven't mastered.

What do I suck at? Keeping my house clean, losing weight, keeping my kids occupied when I'm working, and earning enough money to live as comfortably as I would like to and provide the kind of life that I want to provide. I also am not great at picking men.

I love to play piano and sing but am truly, truly awful at both. I would trade my visual art talent for music talent in a heartbeat.

Fun question R....what about you?

I am the best at having a perfect body and an immaculate house.
Nope, can't say that with a straight face!! I am a terrible housekeeper and my "perfect body" and I parted ways long ago...
However, I am a really amazing floral designer. I rock at wedding bouquets and I have some honest-to-God trophies for it. I am also a great mediator. I care about other people. I care too much about what other people think of me sometimes. It really bothers me if someone thinks that I am either unkind or a bad mother, because I try so hard not to be either of those things. I can be flaky and I am always late for personal things, but I am pretty darn good at my job. I am a world-class snuggler, just ask my boys, my hubby, or my dogs!

I think I'm best at putting my family first...making sure they are happy. Although, that could also be a fault sometimes! Im also great at cooking...hubby loves that! And I think I'm a pretty awesome mom and aunt!

I'm worst at(& my hubby would agree!) pushing my daughter at sports! Not sure exactly how to say it, but I get annoyed when she doesn't hustle and 'plays' during practice and games. My dad pressured me A LOT...but I thrived with it and liked the pressure! I am slowly learning to just let her have fun! Or my hubby makes me walk away! (I don't yell at her or anything like those crazy parents! My hubby can just see the steam!)

fun list! things I'm good at:
- coordinating events
- decorating
- cooking
- baby whisperer (getting babies to sleep - words from my friends/brother)
- loving my children unconditionally
- used to be a cool mom (now as they're teenagers, I've apparently lost my edge - lol)

I am not a patient person - neither are my children. I would frequently tell them that patience is a virtue - one they do not posess.
I am not the best housekeeper.

I'm a good leader. I usually just assume a leadership role in a given situation, as it comes naturally to me.

I am good at planning. I usually have the entire summer vacation all planned out before the end of February.

I am good at saving money. I am very frugal and can always find the greatest deals.

I am a good student. I just wrote my last exam in the Educational Assistant program, and I had a 4.5 GPA going into the exam.

I'm not very good at time managment, decluttering and social situations.

I am Crafty Queen - or a craft-a-holic, depending on who you ask...LOL! I mainly do Kids/Baby Crochet - Hats and slippers/booties and Polymer Clay Sculptures - mainly Nativity sets and Christmas Ornaments ( don't get to do that one very often since the kids came around). However, I also dabble in lots of other crafts, and love to find ways to reduce/reuse/recycle in a crafty way.

I am pretty good at letting the kids craft too, with me, or at least parallel play crafting where thye are doing a craft in the same room with me, while I am doing one, but it may not be the same craft! I'm not too worried about keeping the house clean to not let them do playdough or finger paint.

Not great at perfect housework, not career-driven, pretty good at organization if it is something I am "in the mood for", talkative and genial, good at reading/memorization, great at finding things people are looking for - online and around the house, was well as at GoodWill and Salvation Army.

Full disclosure:
Even in the best of times, I am terrible at figuring out what I'm good at. I've been trying to name it for years and years, and I'm still not sure. This question is one that, when I'm asked in, I get silent and glassy eyed, going deep into my brain and trying to come up with an answer. The committee is still out.

That's on good days. Today we crossed our first finish line (I know this won't make much sense to those of you who are unfamiliar with my story - I apologize...feel free to skip ahead!). I saw the lawyer today, handed in a good bunch of papers and declarations. I've been up very late every night this week, going through records, reading through old e-mails, playing private detective to my own life. I think I feel worn, or at least tired (is that the same thing?). This is hard. To be fair, it's also empowering. I feel like a person covered in dry mud, who is finally cracking through the grim, feeling the light of truth on my skin. It is what it is. We have to do what we have to do.

Anyway, needless to say, I'm kind of a negative Nancy right now. Goodness, I guess I could have just said that and spared you all the rest of it! ;-)

What am I decent to good at? Empathy. I'm good at empathy, most of the time. I have honor or, in other words, I am an honorable person. I am trustworthy, and when I'm not, it's unintentional. I am *terrible* at lying. Even as a joke. Even when it's for the greater good. Sometimes when I play poker I can pull a good bluff. More often than not I shake so much that I give myself away. I am REALLY good at shaking when my nerves are even a bit startled. Does it count that I have an excellent startle reflex?

Okay, okay, okay. Stick with the positive.

I am good at love. Not just for my own, but for human kind. I love people, and with my whole heart. Sometimes I feel like I can sense people's spirits; their pain, their vulnerability, their light, but also I am sensitive to dysfunction, violence, bigotry, and aggression. Too, and mostly, I see trauma. I can feel it in people, and I'm rarely wrong (to my knowledge). There, I'm good at being sensitive, and these past few years I've been learning how to hone it, how to take care of myself and not crumble under the weight of my perceptions (real or imagined).

Most days I'm a pretty good mama. My kids are really amazing people, so it's not hard to like being with them. They are at fun ages too; they are quirky and curious, talkative and playful and brave.

Oh dear, I have an unexpected visitor who just arrived. Darn. I'll finish this later.