Are you excellent at anything? Could you consider yourself to be seriously top notch amazing at one specific skill? Are you child prodigy violinist, the most talented dancer, a gold medal Olympic athlete, the utmost sought after brain surgeon, or a master at bating?

Can you imagine the focus, dedication, and commitment it takes to truly be the best at something? If I am being honest with myself, which I often regret doing because I tend to be oversensitive to criticism…no I don’t….yes you do… no I don’t and stop saying that Toni you big dumb jerk… I would have to admit that I am good at lots of things but excellent at nothing.

I can play sports, I know how to throw a football, I can skateboard, surf, knit, cook, dance, edit video, stand on my head, do a backflip, and text message with my eyes closed. I am pretty intelligent, I know enough about politics, I have some ideas about math and science, and am able to recognize a song after hearing the first 4 beat measure.

But there is nothing that I am the best at.

It makes me wonder what it would be like to raise a Michael Jordan, Hemmingway, or Martha Graham. Is the sacrifice of thousands of hours to pursue something with that extreme amount of dedication worth all you would have to give up? You cannot lead a “normal” childhood if you want to accomplish that level of achievement, but wouldn’t it all be worth it? For the glory of it all? Is that moment of ultimate success more meaningful than the leisure of being a regular kid?

The Munch is 1 now, and if she is going to be the best at anything she better get serious about her practicing. So far her skills are pointing at rocks, grunting at things that she wants, poking me in the eye, and finding her nose. I am going to be one proud Mama some day.

“Rocks!”