15 Questions

I pinned something on Pinterest about "50 Questions for Your Best Self" or something like that.  Mainly, I pinned it because it looked like a good prompt for a blog post when I don't have something else to write about, but want to write something.  After reading through most of the questions, I didn't feel the need to answer all 50, so I've chosen 15 for now.

1. What do I love about my life?

I love being a wife and a mother.  I am learning to really curate my home to be a place of coziness and welcoming, and in the process, I'm honing my personal style and finding that I'm able to get rid of things that do not bring peace.  Therefore, being able to structure my home to provide peace to my family is one external way that I can show them how much I love them and how much I want home to be a refuge for them.

2. Where do I want to be in 5 years? 

In 5 years, I'd like to be well on my way to being a college professor.  I know I have to have a few years of teaching under my belt before I can proceed to the doctoral program, which I'll have to take in order to become a faculty member at a university.  In 5 years, I hope to have recuperated the amount I spent on this recent home renovation and I hope I have continued to dwindle how much I spend on superfluous purchases.  (Alternate answer: I would really love to have paid off our home in 5 years.   It would take extreme sacrifice and living off of solely one income but I do wish we could do this.)

3. What am I afraid to do?

I am afraid to try new things.  I am afraid to tell Aaron to get his dream job because it means that I'd have to carry the insurance for the family, and his insurance plan is so much better than mine when it comes to diabetes supplies. 

4. Can I improve on any of my daily habits?

I could actually eat the produce that I buy at the grocery store.

5. What makes me upset?

Thinking about burden that my son will one day carry as he grows up with Type One Diabetes, and red-tape.  These things are unrelated to each other.

6. What are 3 negative mindsets that I need to let go of?

"That opportunity is not made for shy people like you." "If you try, you will fail and people will judge you."  "You are not kind."

7. What will I accomplish next year?

I will tweak my lesson plans to include more hands-on activities for my students.  Even though I hated those types of activities when I was in school, I am finding that my students love them, so I feel the need to incorporate more group work and games into my lessons (pending a coronavirus vaccine of course). 

8. How can I improve my daily routines?

I could set aside more time for reading.  This will include reading aloud to my children more-- storybooks, and also fun chapter books.  It would be nice if Aaron and I revived our former routine of choosing one night a week to just sit on the couch and both of us read our own book.

9. How can I show others more love and compassion each day?

More hugs!  I read somewhere that 12 hugs a day begins to cause positive change in children.  I would like to make sure that I give each of my kids at least 12 hugs a day.  I also want to put a pause in between their behavior and my reaction.  I think if I took time to decipher why they were acting a certain way, I could more easily fix the problem rather than exacerbating it with my own frustration.

10.  If I could relive one moment, what would it be? 

Being the mom to babies and toddlers again.  I'd LOVE to be able to hold each of my babies again and to really relish the moments in time where they learned how to do simple things like smiling, toddling, laughing, running, etc.  I missed out on so much due to fear and anxiety. 

11. If I could be anything in the world, what would I be?

A manager of my own real estate properties.  I'd love to have properties scattered throughout some of my favorite towns so that I could visit these places when I wanted, but also so I could rent them out and make an income from these and essentially be my own boss and spend my time how I'd like.

12. Who inspires me the most and why?

My mom.  She's perpetually kind and compassionate.  She's the perfect example of a godly wife and a mother.

13.  Is there something I need to change that might be holding me back?

I speak negatively to myself and I need to stop that. I also need to stop worrying about what other people say or think.  (Can also be read:  I need to stop worrying.)

14. What is a goal I have for this month?

Start a prayer journal, even if just in a spiral notebook.  Do more fun activities with my kids like reading knock-knock jokes and playing charades, etc.

15.  What am I grateful for?

So so much.  Being a wife to my best friend. Being a mom to two boys and a girl. Living in America.  Choosing my career path.  Having family close by.  This list could really just go on and on and maybe that's the point.  Maybe I should read this list and add to it everyday.  Reminding myself of what I have to be grateful for really puts things back into perspective.


Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba