Vampire Deer, Greek & other joys of learning

Are you teachable? Are you open to being incorrect? Are you willing to learn? 

These questions have gotten to me in the past couple weeks. I want to have a heart that is open. Open to being wrong. Open to learning. Open to growing.

Samuel made a statement last week about Vampire Deer* and I questioned him. I was thinking someone is seriously pulling his leg. And he was very sweet and said, "No Mom, it's a real thing... they don't suck people's blood but they do have these fang like horns." I was pretty incredulous. So I asked Siri... and she googled it for me. And yeah, I was wrong. They do exist.

I come to the table where my kids are studiously working on their schooling and I see my husband practicing something on a sheet of paper. My curiosity is piqued. What is he doing? Cursive? Nope. Greek. He's practicing his Greek alphabet.

I'm so thankful to be surrounded by people willing to learn and grow and be stretched. It inspires and motivates me. 

I have been deliberately pushing myself to try some things that scare me. One of my unfortunate sides of PTSD has been a fear of trying new things... especially in the kitchen. I can be weirdly and embarrassingly afraid of trying something new when it comes to cooking, baking and other culinary skills. I mean, like full blown panic attack.

I remember when it first occurred. It was shortly after my sister's death and I was trying to make instant rice for the first time. I broke into a sweat and fell apart shaking and in tears... over instant rice. So it was a big move for me to make crustless quiche this past weekend. And today I couldn't have been more proud of my baking spaghetti squash. 

Now, are these things incredibly simple to do... yes. But for me it was like I moved a mountain. Once I get over my fear of doing something, by doing it myself one time, I feel free to do it again in the future. I have  learned how to brew kombucha tea and kept it going for many, many months. I bake sourdough bread from a starter and have even made sourdough pancakes and waffles. I'm going to try sourdough banana bread and sour dough zucchini bread in the near future. I can spiralize veggies into zoodles. I know how to juice and I make delicious smoothies. I've even made my own homemade ice cream from time to time. I'd like to learn how to use an instapot as well as a food dehydrator....but for today I'm grateful and satisfied that I've learned a new skill. 

I pushed myself past my discomfort zone and practiced something new. So grateful to learn new things and I hope and pray that I will remain teachable for the rest of my life.

Here's to learning!

*Vampire Deer also known as Musk or Water Deer. You can find information here.