What is something that you've accomplished in your life that you reflect back upon and feel very satisfied that you did? Perhaps it's something you created. Or a trip that you took. Maybe it's a skill that you worked hard to develop.
Today I am feeling very satisfied that I made the decision to adopt special needs children. Whereas it isn't for everyone, I feel very driven and passionate about international adoption. Thinking about the progress that Keith & Iryna have made in the past 2 years just makes me smile. They are so special. All 3 of my children are special. Anna is such a great big sister. I have a very supportive husband. And I am proud of myself for being courageous enough to adopt and to be doing it again. I am so blessed to be me.
4 comments:
I feel so happy about the decisions we made surrounding the births of our children. I was able to experience two wonderful, med-free and intimate birthdays with my husband. David came in the water and Julia in the bed-both births empowering and beautifully miraculous.
There are many small things in my life that I am proud of rather than one large thing. Most recently, I am proud of the way I spent December really giving presents that felt meaningful and had an impact on the world - I donated $100 to Reece's Rainbow, bought a homeless man lunch, and cut off 14 inches of my hair to donate to Locks of Love (a charity that makes free wigs for kids who suffer permanent hair loss due to medical conditions).
I am proud of my hand skills - I can sew clothing, embroider fine details, knit, bind books, make paper, and set type/print in the letterpress style. I once built a violin for a school project.
I'm proud of my accomplishments in the kitchen and for the way I've learned to make mayonnaise, baguettes, jam, pickles, and cheese (long forgotten skills for most) from scratch the old fashioned way.
I'm proud of my musical skills - I played violin for 7 years and have been performing since I was 8. I've been on tour with my choir to Spain, Italy, the midwest, New England, and Florida.
I'm proud of my academic accomplishments - the orbital determination program I wrote as a teen is now archived in the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. My art has been on display in schools, libraries, and museums. I once wrote a really epic 30 page English paper that I finally finished as the sun rose and the birds started singing :-)
I am proud of my job and the fact that I once conserved books signed by George Washington and that I once finished a project that was supposed to take 3 months in less than two and half weeks, a task that involved moving, lifting, and reorganizing 10,000 books TWICE!
It's funny how I forget many of the awesome things that I've done on a daily basis - it's so easy to focus on the negative and say "argh I messed up xyz, I'm running late on this project at work, and I forgot to send a card to so-and-so...I must be a bad person." Thank you for writing this post - it gave me time and opportunity to reflect on the cool stuff that I've done and it raised my self confidence a great deal.
Your adoption is definitely something to be proud of - you are an amazing person for so many reasons!
I am satisfied that I served a mission in Brazil. There are many things I regret about the whole thing--times I wish I'd worked harder, people I wish I'd kept more in contact with, etc--but I am satisfied that my sacrifice was accepted by the Lord, and I think I did influence at least some people.
I am satisfied that I completed my BA. I still have dreams to go to grad school, but those are on hold for now.
I am satisfied that I am a wife and mother. It's nowhere near what I thought it was going to be like, but it's amazing just the same.
I am satisfied that, even though I sometimes really don't like it, I have been able to support my family for 4.5 years. I am looking forward to someday turning over the reins to my husband, but I am grateful that I have gone through it myself and can more appreciate the difficulty of it once he is the main provider.
I think that's it for now. Thanks for letting me share! And I'm grateful to hear of your accomplishments, too :)
I am proud of you. Your children are very blessed to be in your family. I am excited to meet the new children that will join your family.
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