I've noticed a pattern.
I introduced my dad to the Macintosh computer and in a short period of time our relationship changed from my being his ad-hoc tech support and his asking me what to do to fix problems on his iMac to him knowing WAAAAY more about how to burn music, edit movies and all other facets of the Mac than I could ever hope to know.
I showed my friend Holly my new love of quilting (I can't say I introduced her to quilting because, shoot, she grew up sewing and doing needlework with her Grandmother) - and quickly she outpaced me in ability, quality of her handiwork and she's prolific. She's produced what must be dozens of truly beautiful quilts in the past few years. She amazes me.
I showed my friend Shelli my blog, and she quickly knew more about blogging than me! Her posts exceeded mine not only in frequency but in quantity and quality. She has made oodles of blogosphere friends, has cool thingies on her blog, her own domain name and slick widgets that boggle my mind each time I visit her blog...while meanwhile I stick to freebie Blogger and my rambling thoughts and mundane observations.
All I can surmise from this is this new motto for myself:
"Stepping stone for many, expert to none."
Truly, I say this with no bitterness at all. While I consider myself to be a bit of an early adopter I realize I'm spread too thin with too little time to get serious about most of the non-work geeky things I find interesting.
So, while I may be able to occasionally show people new things, they quickly grow past my introductory level of knowledge to do amazing things. I'm really very OK with that - because I'm happy to keep puttering along at the pace I'm at. Dabbling, but not being nearly as proficient or prolific.
Maybe someday when my kids are older I'll get more serious about one of my many interests. Until then, I'm happy to watch my friends and loved ones do amazing things, and to sit back and watch.
1 comment:
But see there is a big difference in what you do versus what I do- and really you are the much better quilter for it.
You pain-stakingly *hand piece* each of your blocks together, carefully mark out each seam width and put much more effort into the quality of your work. Plus, you really enjoy the sewing part.
Me, I'm all about the speed of it. Quarter inch seam allowance? Ehn, this is close enough. Corners not perfect? Well, it makes it look more hand made. And as for enjoyment, for me it's all about the end product. My goal is to have exactly what I was looking for, or to make a nice gift for someone that is kinda unique, a little thoughtful, and hopefully very enjoyable. And by far not perfect.
And I've seen your work and it is by far, much, much nicer than anything I've *ever* done. So really i haven't outpaced you at all.
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