Wow. Now I am supposed to list my own unique strengths; the very thought of that is terribly scary for me; in the back of my head are all these little voices warning me about false pride, about thinking too much of yourself, about that terrible devil EGO. Yikes. Still. It is like homework, right? And I love me some homework, being the quintessential nerd and all.

I am capable of providing for my family financially. Even though there are a lot of really lean times and I get scared a lot, we have had a roof over our heads and food to eat and electricity.

I am extremely intelligent (see, there you go. I say that, and I automatically want to delete it because it sounds boastful. This sucks.)and am capable of thinking outside the box when the situation calls for it (desperate times = desperate measures, right?)

I care passionately about my kids; not because they are my possessions, but because they are people, and I care about what happens to them and what kind of life they might have outside of me. I am willing to make almost any sacrifice for them in order to make sure they have a better chance to make it than I did. I love them so much it hurts.

Speaking of kids, and this may seem crazy in light of #3, but I love them enough to stick with it even when I want to get in the car and drive as far away as possible. So I guess that means I am also capable of following through on a commitment.

I am strong. Physically, definitly, and sometimes emotionally. I think this means I am a survivor-no matter what, no matter how down and discouraged I get, I always get back up and keep going. Even when I don't want to.

This is silly, maybe, but I am a great cook. For me, cooking is an act of love; there is something so elemental about physically preparing food for people I love. It is a very tangible example of providing for them. I even love it when Steve asks me to make him a lunch (rarely), or am able to send leftovers with him.

I have a really great sense of humor; sometimes dark, often dry, TOO often sarcastic, but I shtink life is pretty funny.

See, I am looking at this list, and there is more, but my 15 minutes is up and I am second guessing every single thing I write here. I wish that I would learn better how to tell that voice in my head to shut up; all too often it sounds like my mom, and I just want to tell her to go get screwed.