Walk In Your Strengths

My husband is outrageously creative.  It is quite an amazing thing that I'm discovering this in the 8th year of our marriage, as our son's creativity blossoms and Alejandro's re-blooms with it.  The two boys surprise me daily with some incredibly fun activity they have discovered with nothing more than a box.

Legos are not just Legos.  They become the Taj Mahal.  Or a chair that you can actually sit in.

Or a flexible (literally) wall.

Play dough does not get made into pancakes, but rather sculpted into masterpieces.

Sidewalk chalk is not used to make random scratches on our driveway that make it look like a war happened.  It's used to recreate scenes of Costa Rica.

Toddler-sized pants make nice ears on my husband's head during diaper changes. Car washes become a great adventure in helping Papa.  I won't even start in on bath time.  It's truly amazing.

I am nowhere near as creative, or fun.  I am, however, fiercely competitive.

Sigh.  

And lately, I have found myself full of painful jealousy at my husband's uncanny ability to delight and enthrall our toddler.  Ok, AND because he's the favorite.  If the two of us are around, you can bet money on who Danny wants to be with.  I'll admit it.  It hurts.

But I'm learning.  And since I think out loud on paper, I'm learning here.

I'm learning to walk in my strengths and to give thanks for Alejandro's.

My strengths do not include genius creativity, but as a former teacher, I know that I am really good at mentoring, guiding, shaping and developing a child's undirected energy so that he develops focus, self-discipline, good communication, strategy and academic learning.  Those things are NOT as much fun.  But they ARE really important.

Slowly.... very very, every-so-painfully, slowly I am learning that I don't need to be the fun one.  I can walk in my strengths.  I can laugh and join in when my husband's creativity takes us for unexpected energy-expending and very fun turns without wishing I had thought of that, and I can find peace that my strengths lay foundations for stability, trust and self-sufficiency in our home.

I don't have to be the favorite.  He still does holler, "Mama!!!!!!" from the other room for me to come see the Egyptian Pyramid he and Papa built in the other room.  And someday soon when he learns to enjoy stories...  watch out.  I can read a mean bedtime story.  ;)