Dare to Do...Something

Hi Phinn,

So this is my first blog.  I've been told before that I should have one but have never bothered.  As usual, you give me a reason to bother.  I always think of things that I'll tell you when you're older.  Sometimes I'm happy about something you're learning and want to tell you all about it.  Sometimes it's just that I'm cursing someone in traffic and want to tell you never to cut someone off like that.  But all these things, they float around in your head and they mix with the day-to-day.  Paying bills, thinking about staining the fence (I hope it's stained by the time you are old enough to read this), buying milk on the way home.  You forget.  So now, it will be here, or at least some of it will.  But I digress...

People have asked me to write a blog before because they think that writing is my gift.  I won't go so far as to say that, I'll only say I enjoy it.  I like to express myself.  I'll think of ideas in my head and want to put them to paper, or keyboard and screen these days.  Some people have amazing talents that stand out.  They can sing, or act, or play a sport or an instrument.  Then there are the less public talents, saving lives as a doctor, putting out fires, teaching kids to read.  Some people are amazing at one thing.  Other people are pretty good at dozens of things.  So I figured, I'll give a blog a shot, and I won't worry about being good at it, I'll Nike it up and "Just Do It". (By the way, Nike?  Pretty comfy, but overrated.  I love my New Balance.  Just saying, make a note of that if I tell you no to some ridiculous shoes in the future.  Not being a hypocrite.)

My roundabout point here is not to be afraid to do something because you think you might suck at it.  Maybe you do.  That's okay.  Maybe you don't; bonus!  I watch you now, at 14 months old, and I see you throw a ball pretty far or play with your music table and bop your head rocking out and I wonder what you'll be good at.  I'm your mom, so I think you'll be good at everything.  That's another important point: No matter how bad you are at something, your mom always thinks you're good at it.  So there, you have one fan already.

I may touch on this later, since I ramble about this all the time, but it's okay to be scared and do something anyway.  Nelson Mandela said, "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."  Now if someone wants you to jump off a bridge and you're afraid you're gonna go splat at the bottom, that's a very real fear, listen to that fear.  Seriously.  Some people are just plain stupid.  But, if you're afraid to act in a play because you'll be standing in front of people, do it anyway.  The rush of doing it and accomplishing something despite being afraid is a great feeling.

So here I am, blog one.  Prepared for it to suck, and relatively okay with it.  You'll like it anyway because I'm your mom.  See?  I already have one fan.  :)

Love you Duder,

Mom