I was going to write a moody blog about taking things to heart. Next time, I promise.

#ohgoodie

Hush. Apparently, WordPress is now giving us writing prompts and mine was “What are 5 things you are good at?”

#ohboy

With the absolute funk I’ve been in, I’m not sure I can come up with 5 things, but here we go.

  1. Making bread. By the end of December, I’ll have made and given away upwards of 20 loaves of bread. This isn’t the bread maker style of bread, this is mixing it by hand, letting it rise, the whole nine yards. My wife makes fun of me because “my husband is known for making bread,” but it’s kind of fun. Without going back into my blogs, I’m sure that I’ve written about it before. It’s a crunchy honey oatmeal wheat bread that I’ve just gotten better at making over time. It’s a labor of love and one that I’m not about to give up because it brings me joy to see people’s faces light up when I show up with it. The problem, my list keeps getting smaller. This year, two more of my teacher friends will be retiring, reducing my workload, but also reducing those who really know me. Eventually, the bread will probably go down to just my daughters, but as long as I can make it, I will.
  2. Coaching basketball. I feel like I’m a good coach. This year has been rocky because, while we are a decent team, this is a team that’s where half the girls could quit tomorrow. Attitude, dislike of the sport, and plain lazy behaviors all play a part in why this team will simply never meet its potential. I’ve tried almost every trick in the book with limited success. We have less than two weeks in our season, which is sad because I love the game. I won’t be coaching after Christmas break, but I’ll keep my finger on the pulse of how to get better.
  3. Teaching. I talk about being an average teacher at best, and while I believe that, I’m also pretty good at teaching too. It’s not about the content with me, it’s about the relationships built. I overheard a kid telling another one, “Yeah, Mr. J’s the best! He knows everyone in the middle school.” And that’s no lie. My memory is not as good as it once was, but I try to use every student’s name when I see them. When you hear your name in the hallway, even if you are in the most awful of moods, things lighten, just a bit. Being seen, being noticed. It is never a bad thing.
  4. Gardening. I love gardening. I love getting into the dirt. I love planting things and seeing them grow. Hell, I love weeding the crap out of things, taking my frustrations out on plants stealing nutrients from the soil. But most of all, I love having that crop come out of the freezer or cellar in February as we are making something. We’ve saved thousands of dollars over the year just growing veggies. That doesn’t take into account the chickens we have, which can give us meat and eggs. But that’s not in garden (though I do wish I could plant an egg and grow a chicken!). 🙂
  5. Writing. As much as I complain about where my motivation has gone, it always makes me smile to click that publish button and see another blog going up. This blog gives me pride and makes me happy, not just because there’s a crap ton of writing in here, but because I’ve kept going. My self-diagnosed ADHD has always kept me from doing things that were really hard. I see it so clearly in my daughter. But I’ve kept going, even when I’ve felt the urge to quit. I keep writing, I keep coming back, and I keep pushing to do a little bit better (even though it cannot be seen).

So, there’s five things I’m good at. Now, what are you good at? I’d love to hear from you in the comments! 🙂

And just think, if grumpy old me can find five things, I bet you could find a WHOLE bunch more!