You know what makes me happy? Garden tilling makes me happy. I relish the power of pushing a piece of heavy machinery through hard-packed soil and sod, breaking it up and making it crumbly and black. I yell, “TAWANDA!” in memory of my favorite scene of “Fried Green Tomatoes” and I feel powerful and expansive.
You know what makes me unhappy? Sewing a button makes me unhappy. I feel cramped and irritable and annoyed when I have to be careful and detail-oriented.
You know how long it took me to figure out I loved to till and I hated to sew? I just recently realized that it is okay to have preferences. I thought it was better to pretend that I enjoyed something I *should* like to do instead of admitting that I’d rather do something else. I’ve found for every activity I admit to not liking, however, I find two new things I love to do.
Garden tilling didn’t seem like an activity I would enjoy; it shocked me to find I did and it took me awhile to admit to myself–or anyone else–that it was one of my passions. I love singing and dancing with a huge group of five-year-old children….and designing a Powerpoint presentation is just grand…and it’s fabulous caring for a farm full of chickens and rabbits! Please, though, don’t make me paint trim or drive in a city or dust a ceiling fan!
Life is too short to pretend to love what you hate. There are plenty of people out there who are willing to sew on buttons and, fortunately for me, my husband is one of them. And, so, I’ll leave the sewing project with him because there’s a power tool calling my name: TAWANDA!