Ten things I love about me

I have been tagged by pretty stellar gal, Amanda- and today happens to be her birthday! And since I know she has seen Cinderella recently (just ask her daughter Briar) I will wish her a happy birthday, Gus-style "Hu, hu Huppy Birfday" :)

And now without further ado, 10 reasons why I think I am swell, or something like that.....

I love:

1. my hands. They are smart and strong and have always been the instrument of my greatest strengths; Building things, making art, and discovering subtleties in material and form; Holding children; Setting (as in volleyball); being able to use them successfully with my eyes closed- braiding my hair, unknotting things- I have a secret hope that someday in a hero-like situation, my hands will be the method for hostage escape in a pitch black room or, the cause for courageous freeings of bound persons cast overboard in dark, eel infested waters.

2. my hair. I have touched on this before, but I'll recap; it is my glory, my defining characteristic. I love how it falls in long, loose curls to the middle of my back- no rollers required, and how it captures sunlight in a dark room, and emits a soft glow around my face. I love how no hair is the same color, each a different shade of strawberry blond, shiny copper, or warm red. I love that it is so long, I have to bring it around to the front of my body to finish braiding it. And I love how it went from something I use to hate because it made me different, to something I love because it makes me different.

3. my heart. It is big, and so often overflowing, I swear people around me can soak up its surplus of happiness.

4. my peacemaker impulse.

5. my ability to see details others often miss. The way sunlight enters water, the beautiful shapes in a pool of spilled wine, the changing shadows on the side of a mountain as the wind pushes clouds past.

6. my ability to have faith in people, despite having been burned in the past. The alternative, expecting people to fail you, has never seemed an option for me. I know this will result in being let down and hurt from time to time, but I would rather be hurt once in a while, than live in a perpetual state of expected disappointment.

7. that kids and I just get along. Without pretense.

8. my narrow hips and cute butt. A good combo for wide leg pants.

9. my laugh. I use it often, and put my heart in it.

10. my smiling eyes. They disappear when I laugh really hard, and I can hardly see the people in front of me. They have made the first lines on my face and they are the lines of a person blessed in joy and laughter, and I am ok with that.

and to keep this self-love ball rolling, I'll now tag; my sister Corrie (who is sadly sans blog) because though she feels the need to be constantly improving herself (which is A ok), there are some pretty great things about her already; and a new comment-giver on my blog, susiej, because she left me such a nice one and I'd like to know her better; my mom (also sans blog), because she inspires me; and a random blogger I found with a great blog name, The Good Kind of Dorky, who lives just an hour from where I went to college, and grew up in central NY- the coincidences were too many to miss this opportunity for a new (albeit random) blogging friend. Happy blogging!