Do you use your talents?

[Tap]

I have been thinking a lot lately about wasted lives. About letting life pass by, and not enjoying what talents we have.

 

 

I am a pretty good cook, but get lazy and don't really do my best. I know some short cuts that make dishes that are pretty good, but not quite as good as the homemade original. I find myself using these more and more. It could be as simple as using a jarred spaghetti sauce instead of a homemade one, or buying a premix of cheese that is close to what I want instead of making my own blend.

 

I have decided to start trying more, and doing better in this arena. Today I spent 1.5 hours making a lasagna. It was the best one I ever made :) It was definitely worth the effort. LOL

 

 

 

So, this leads me to wonder....what is your talent and do you use it?

[Laura Corin]

I have a decent voice and I like to sing. I'm a member of a local choir, rehearse weekly for 2/3rds of the year and perform in two major concerts a year. It's the right level of engagement for me.

 

There are other talents that I don't develop/use at all. Later maybe.

 

Laura

[BMW]

I can sew fairly well... I recently made curtain swags for my bedroom. I am making a lap quilt for my mom for Christmas (I didn't piece the top together myself, just layered, tied and am doing the binding.) I used to make baby items.

 

I like to do an assortment of hand crafts... crochet, needlepoint, cross stitch.

I try lots of different things throughout the year... tole painting, fake flower arrangements, etc.

 

I wish I liked cooking. I don't. But, I try to have a special meal each week that I put time and effort into. It usually turns out really good! I just don't cooking, so I don't consider it a gift!

[NanceXToo]

I've always had somewhat of a talent for writing. I use it to some extent- for fun, for a creative outlet mostly. I did teach a couple of writing workshops to my daughter and some of her friends. I did have a few articles published in Secular Homeschooling Magazine. But that's about the extent of it so far. Maybe some day I'll do a bit more with it.

[Hedgehog]

Music - I teach my dc piano and we use singing to learn different things (SSL, Bible verses and other memorisation, French songs etc.)

 

French - the one thing I'm teaching academically that I actually know a decent amount of!!!

[KristineinKS]

I've been thinking a lot about this lately as well. Once upon a time I would've said that my talent was artistic - primarily drawing and painting. I used to spend time every day on creative endeavors and when the children were younger, it was actually a part of my job. Companies would send me their newest art/craft supplies and books (for free!), and every evening we'd spend time creating, just for the fun of it. Now, sadly, art isn't such a big part of our lives and the kids often have to beg me to work on projects with them because I'm most always too busy.

 

Over the years I've looked for other creative outlets, with varying degrees of success. Cooking is one, though not exactly the same. I'll go through cooking "moods" where I'll try out a lot of new recipes and spend a lot of time on it. (Currently I'm in one of those moods, much to the kids' delight!). I think photography is perhaps another potential talent, but overall, I simply don't have time to indulge my talents too much. At the end of the day when there might be time, I often prefer to read (though usually, I'm learning something, so this isn't entirely wasted).

 

I've always thought that one day, when the kids are on out on their own & we've retired, then I'll do all of the creative things that I don't have time to do now.

[Renee in NC]

I haven't used my talents as much as I could have. I was too focused on homemaking, cooking, farming, homeschooling, etc. - none of which I enjoyed or was very good at! :tongue_smilie:

 

I do hope to better my family's life and the world through what I *am* good at. I won't call my past times "wasted", but I will say I could've achieved the same goals through things I was good at and enjoyed.

[Laurie in Life]

I'm a good organizer, researcher and analyzer. And, I'm generally good in a crisis. All of which I've used in a variety of fashions (not just as a homeschool mom).;)

[swellmomma]

As far as I can tell I don't have any talents. I used to think one I had was working with children, but my own kids have taught me that I am not very talented at that either, though I still work with kids both in and out of the home. Beyond that I can't think of a single talent I have. SO either I have none and it is no issue, or I don't know them and are therefore not using them. Either way I guess my answer is no.

[elise1mds]

I used to play my flute in the community band, but I haven't done that in several years, since I got my job that I work in the evenings (i.e. during rehearsal time). I miss it. I'm so rusty now, though, that it'd take quite a bit of work to get back up to snuff.

 

I used to cross-stitch, too, but the job killed that as well. I don't have time to sit down during the day at do it, which is sad because I made some beautiful pieces for my mother, mother-in-law, and children when they were younger.

 

I've finally come back to writing with NaNoWriMo, and I still take the time to cook for the family, and I'm learning to garden, but I'm definitely not using all my talents. The interior decorator in me has been itching to come out again, too.

[Halcyon]

I don't know the answer to that question, to be honest. Long ago, I was a nationally ranked squash player--top 3 in the country for many years. But Ii don't play anymore. I was also a singer--don't sing anymore. BUT. I have discovered that I love art and crafting, something I didn't know about myself and was never encouraged. I love knitting, paper crafting and more. I also have been practicing yoga for 20 years and have become quite adept. I think I have a talent for organizing and teaching, both of which come into play when homeschooling, so maybe I am using my talents, just not in a way I would have thought. :)

[joannqn]

Yes, no, not enough, and that's why I don't want any more children.

 

Yes: I started tutoring in 4th grade and helped various peers throughout school. In a way, homeschooling is an extension of that. I used to be more of an artist than I am now, and I've finally started doing art projects with my kids for their benefit, but also to get me back into it.

 

No and Not Enough: I would like to have the time to do more serious drawing/art and crafting. I have always wanted to do theater but was always too afraid to try in school, though I think I would be good at it.

 

No more children: I'm hoping to audition and try drama once my youngest isn't nursing any more. I have no idea how to audition, and I'm terrified of that part. I would also like to tutor/teach when my kids are older, and I have more time.

[Mejane]

I think my best talents are that I can sketch and I'm good with the elderly. I'm not currently "using" either talent. I think art class ruined sketching for me because we had to grind out a certain number of sketches per week. :tongue_smilie: I plan to go back into elderly services someday, but until then I just accost older people in the grocery store and make them talk to me. ;)

[LimitBreak]

One of my talents is teaching. I use it at home with my ds and at work. I consistently find myself trying to hone my teaching methods to help my ds and employees become better at their jobs/studies.

[ChristineW]

I am a good writer. I was invited to participate in some workshops and even served as a reviewer for to well regarded writing journals. I barely have the energy at the end of the day to jot down a few words much less write fiction short stories.

 

I am pretty good at legal research. I love studying the law, but my ADHD kept me from being a great lawyer. I'd spend days on trying out how to win some arcane issue in a case and ignore the 20 mundane files piling up on my desk. It drove my supervisors up the wall. Now that I'm home, I've been told point blank that I need to get a nanny b/c I shouldn't be allowed to waste my talents.

 

I laugh though b/c for the first time I can remember I'm truly happy.

[CLHCO]

I think there are seasons of life, and there will be times when a talent must go on the shelf for a bit, though it's good to dust it off now and then, eventually to take it back down.

 

When my oldest two were in preschool I sang with an opera company, but the demands of the extra work I put in to afford private lessons with the director, the practices in the city, and to be honest, the extreme self-focus it caused, left me burned out and stressing out my little ones. I had to drop it completely.

 

I didn't sing for 10 years, just taught Kindermusik for a time, homeschooled, had more kids, and learned to reign in my narcissism over it all. :svengo:

 

Now I have the bluegrass band with the kids and it's much more fun than opera ever was.:party:

 

Not to say narcissism is something most other talents need to worry about, but boy howdy is it a hang-up on the opera world... ok, I admit it, in my world if I sing it. :tongue_smilie: