Hey, what?

Long time, no post.

I saw this photo on the internetz and thought I'd share. I want this shirt!

Today is Mother's Day. I gotta call my mom in a few minutes. I'm bummed I won't be able to see her today, but my sister and I are planning on visiting next month for Father's Day. For both of us, job stuff is keeping us on our toes and in town. Bleh! Luckily our parents understand, and they're busy trying to save their house from the Basset Hound puppy they got a couple months ago anyway.

I just realized that my mom is much like my derby team in a key attitude perspective. They both undersell themselves. When I was a kid, my family would watch Jeopardy on tv while eating dinner, and my mom was always able to quickly answer all the trivia questions. She's a very literate, very smart, very astute woman. But because of some of the things life dealt her from within and without, she doesn't see what she does so well. She could do amazing things if she thought she could. At one point in her life she had wanted to be a lawyer. She would've been a KICKASS lawyer, but for various reasons, she didn't think she could. So she didn't. I wish she had, because I think it would've been the best mental workout she could ever have!

And that's applicable to my team, as well. An amazing group with amazing abilities, and when the collective keeps its cool, a bunch of kickassery happens on the track. But man, once self-doubt weasels its way in on the bench, the motivation to do well kills the aptitude, and it's back to being the Bad News Bears sometimes.

Of course this happens a lot to a lot of different people in different situations. It's human nature. And I know I sound kinda hippyish in that I do think a positive attitude can help with aptitude in many situations. Lately I've been really, REALLY down on myself. I don't know whether it's just me or whether it's coming from those around me as well, but really? Life's too short for that.

So this is today's message:

You're OK. In fact, you're probably pretty fucking awesome. Whatever you're doing at work, at home, for derby, for the local homeless shelter or animal rescue? THAT'S FUCKING FANTASTIC. You rock! Whenever you think no one notices you or says thanks for what you do? They may be too shy, or momentarily too caught up in their world to let you know that you affect them in a positive way. You matter. You really do.