In the midst of a very up and down and very emotional and stressful time in my life I came across this blog post about perception.  Before you read my thoughts please click on the link (here it is again) and read it.

In the end this experiment by the Washington Post came to one possible conclusion that “if we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, how many other things are we missing?”

I feel like right now I am missing a lot.  I have allowed stress to creep into my life and rule.  I have rushed my children because I feel a sense of panic to get everything done.  I have walked passed magnificent scenery and beautiful people without even noticing.  I have forgotten to turn on the music because I can’t hear it over the noise living in my head.  I have lost countless hours of sleep worrying and fearing.

I don’t want to miss all that life has to offer.  I don’t want to force my kids to miss the beauty that surrounds them each and every day because I have lost sight of that beauty. I want to find my way back to simplicity, to joy, to trust, to peace.

As someone who works with teenagers and feels strongly that teenagers need to be encouraged and motivated I work hard to encourage them to discover what they are.  I teach them to discover their passions, to find their voice and use it, to be the kind of people that inspire change.  I attempt to focus on the positive and try to teach my students not to concentrate on what they cannot do, but what they can do.

And yet…today my post is on what I am not.  I am not trying to focus on the negative and in fact this is a big revelation for me – but I warn you now…this is not very exciting…honestly, not at all.  Ok, ready…

I AM NOT A CRAFTER!

See, not exciting.  And yet, for me this is a big revelation.  You see, I love seeing what DIY projects people are doing and one of my very best friends, Andy Richards, is an incredible crafter.  I love seeing what my friend Rachael Hershman is doing with weddings she is working on or things she finds on other blogs.  While I feel inspired by the projects I see on Pinterest or blogs in reality I don’t want to do those projects.  But, I always thought I did.  I thought I was a crafter – but I am not.

Ok, so you are wondering why this is important, right?  For me, at this age (30 in October!!!), it is important to discover what I am not so I can focus my energy on the things I am rather than on the things I think I am, but am not.  You see, I look at pins (pinterest talk for those of you not familiar) of crafty DIY things or themed parties and think I totally want to do those things because they are so dang cute.  But really, I just think they are cute.  It’s not me though. I don’t really want to make any of those crafts. I just like to admire them.

But what am I?  I am a simple person who buys simple clothes for myself and my kids.  I am a person who invites people into my home regularly and makes some simple treat.  I am the mom who has birthday parties at the park with snacks from costco and people we love around us. I am the mom and wife who doesn’t always cook, but married a man who shares that responsibility gladly. And when we do cook it is rarely an elaborate meal – but we sit at our table every night together as a family and eat because that is what I am.  I am simple person who isn’t crafty, but is ok with that.

I feel like the best thing I can show my girls is that I am ok being just who I am, even if that means I am not super creative and I don’t come up with exciting new ideas or throw the best parties.  In the end I am who I am and I love that person – ok, let’s be more honest…I am continuously discovering that person and learning to love that person.