It is 10 days until the Year of Fun is over! This is crazy, crazy to me. I’m working on a few fun things so that I go out with a bang! (And by “go out,” I mean stop posting every day. There is no way I could quit this blog altogether).
Today was a lazy, sleepy Saturday mostly spent working on my autobiography for the adoption. This life history needs to address family values, highlights, disappointments, troubles, goals, romance, psychology and career. No page limit, just go. Currently, I’m seven pages in and two thirds of the way through the questions. It is a pretty amazing exercise. I’ve thought about many of these things but never articulated them in this way (nor have I tried to connect them all in one cogent narrative). Just try writing out the answer to the question, “What values and rules did you have in your family?” I think I could spend hours on this question alone.
First, I had to sit and think about what values I was taught as a child. This was difficult because they are such a part of me. I made a list, yet as I thought about my life, things kept coming to me. The first thing on the list was the Golden Rule. While I am sure every parents hopes to instill this in their child, I took it very seriously and found myself very upset in situations where people did not treat me the way I treated them. Next, I listed my current values and compared and contrasted them with first list. What changed? When? And why? These are the questions on which I could spend so much time. It is the kind of self-examination that prompts personal realizations.
I highly recommend trying this out. Already, I can see it as an extremely helpful tool for approaching parenting. But it is good just for life and personal growth. Happy writing!
year of fun 