Curse you Genetics!

I am VERY good at some things, some things I do well enough, but I KNOW that I am just no good at a few things. With my wisdom (aka, age), I know the difference between a lost cause and something that I could tackle, learn and become better at. I am very pleased to say that I am happy and content to have that knowledge - though sometimes I think I may cross that line into, 'is she really going to try that' or 'what is she thinking' territory, and though I may pine away wishing that I was gifted in some areas, for the most part, I pride myself on being able to accept my short-comings (maybe because they are few and far between -HA!)

The point, aside from me bragging about my self awareness that is suppose to be the hallmark of your 30's, but I am just beginning to master in my MID 30's (won't be late 30's until January or maybe Jan 2012! - on a side note, I personally define your decades by 0, 1, 2, and sometimes 3 as 'early' while 4, 5, 6 and sometimes 7 as 'middle' and finally, 8 and 9 as 'late' - for example 23 is early 20's and 79 is late 70's - debate my view if you must :) Where was I, oh, self awareness is a wonderful thing!

I think it comes about a lot more blatantly when you have children though I believe all 30-somethings will get there. Kids really hammer home the point that hey, maybe that is genetic and therefore in the must-accept category. Some things are more obvious, like height, skin color, etc. but some just aren't like having a sweet tooth, being a gifted artist, etc. I am constantly surprised when I realize that one of my offspring have the exact same fill-in-the-blank as David or I when I always thought that was a personality thing and not genetic.

What got me on this train of thought, you may be wondering (along with, why on earth can't she get to her point - another shortcoming of mine is being verbose!)? I know that I am NOT remotely gifted in the voice department. I can't hear, discern or carry a tune to save my life. It may as well be a foreign language for what it means to me and what I hear. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE music, love listening to it and can generally tell good from bad at least based on my personal preferences, but I can't go below the surface on any of it. I believe it is a bit like seeing in 2 dimensions and that those that can hear tone, beat, components...don't even realize they are 'hearing' or picking up on those things - they just do.

This knowledge, which I have had for a very long time, has never stopped me from singing along to my favorite tunes - just alone - in the car, shower, etc. I even get a little embarrassed when I have to sing happy birthday in public and usually just make up for my lack of skill with volume - now that's something I can do well - LOUD!

Well, it all came home to roost the other day, when the boys and I had the windows down and sun roof open on a gorgeous, sunny day. We were listening to a mixed-CD I created w/some of their favorite pop songs on it. And next thing you know, Ethan belts out singing (he prides himself on knowing every word - and even the ones he doesn't, he just sounds those out in typical style :) And wouldn't you know it, he sings just like his mommy! POOR, POOR boy! At one point, at a stop light, I almost rolled up the windows to spare us the pained looks, but alas, life is too short...let the boy sing!

That is when I started to think about the merits of selective breeding - but that's a topic for another day :)