Things I Never Thought I'd Be an Expert At

I remember when I started college and took my first course list in hand to register for my first semester. It was such an exciting book of possibilities! I had already decided to major in Elementary Education, but there were so many classes I could take on the way to that final degree. I felt in total control of my future and the path of my own personal knowledge.

Now that I'm a lot older, and a little bit wiser, I find myself reflecting on the direction my knowledge and expertise have gone. (Well, maybe "expertise" is pushing it...) I have become "expert"--or a little more skilled-- in areas I never would have imagined. As it turns out, I didn't have as much control of this as I thought...life started happening and I started learning things out of necessity instead of what sounded good on a course list. The 18-year-old imagined a resume with items like, "curriculum design, conversational Italian, or classroom management." My real life resume is so far different, but strangely every bit as exciting as my imagination.

So here are some areas where I have gained if not "expert" status, at least a step above the amateur ranks.

Diaper Changing. Four children, and 10 years of bottom wiping have definitely elevated me to mastership of this particular challenge. I can change diapers in a car, in a gas station bathroom, on a beach, on an airplane, on my lap, with one hand, even with my eyes closed. I can make a 3 second determination on the number of wipes a particular change will use, and I know every trick to avoiding an open-diaper-accident. Although in the last year and a half I have retired from this particular field, it's akin to riding a bicycle...this knowledge is going with me to the grave.

Running. If you had told my college self that this would one day become my passion I would have laughed in your face. I don't do running. But now I live for it! I use words like fartlek, recovery time, weight-bearing cardio exercise, and bib in the proper context. My 4-year-old daughter was eating breakfast one morning when I got back from a run and nonchalantly asked, "How many miles did you do?" We live and breathe distance training in this household. I have recently come down with an overuse injury called trochanteric bursitis in my hip that has sidelined my running for the next couple of months as I recover, and I quite literally spent an entire day crying over the news. (Just ask my poor husband.) Now don't get me wrong, I love being a mother, but one of the things I love the most about running is that it's an identity I have that is completely unrelated to being a mom.

Trochanteric Bursitis.

ADHD. This is not a field that I have ever had any aspirations to become expert in, even as an educator. It has taken a long time to get through the denial, anger, and frustration phases of dealing with this, but I feel like I'm going to make it now. When I was pregnant with Zachary, I was finishing up my last semester at BYU, and taking a class called "Human Exceptionality." Every chapter dealt with a different syndrome, disability, or other special need. Every week I would read a chapter and then fret over whether or not my unborn baby was afflicted with that particular challenge. What if my baby has autism? What if my baby has down syndrome? etc. Strangely enough, I didn't have those same concerns when I read the chapter on ADHD. I don't know why I somehow thought my child would be less prone to this particular problem. Who knew? I'm still not an expert on this, but if knowledge is power, then I am doing my calisthenics every day by reading, researching, and taking district classes. I don't want to be an expert on this misunderstood disorder, but I do want to be an expert on raising a son who can overcome his challenges. I want to be such an expert at advocating his rights in a classroom that other moms of children with ADHD will ask me for advice. I want to be an expert on communicating with coaches, teachers, leaders, peers, and especially my son about what ADHD does and does not mean. I didn't choose this area of understanding, but I want to pursue it with my whole heart and energy.

Doing Disneyland with 4 children. I swear one day I'm going to write a book on this one...we have got the system figured out. Of course it doesn't hurt that I happen to love running and that usually Cory and I are the ones dragging our children half asleep by the end of the night. I took my sister to Disneyland with us once, and by the end of the second day she said, "Cami, I swear I am walking as fast as I can and I can NOT keep up with you. I feel sorry for your kids!" If you ever want to know how to make the most of stroller passes and fast passes...give me a call!

Anyway, I guess that's enough of waxing philosophic for one day. Still, it makes me wonder what special areas of knowledge are in store for my future. I also find myself wondering what Cory or my kids would consider as their field of expertise. Oh, and it also makes me wonder how many times anyone has ever used the words "expertise" or "wonder" in one post. Hmmm.