Skill Sets

I have written and rewritten my resume so many times and so many ways over the last few years, you would think I would be well aware of my set of skills. You would think I would know exactly what I have done, and exactly what I can do. And perhaps on paper, and in the eyes of resume-readers and employers, that is true. But every so often, there is a day when I realize that my skill set is much more than the piece of paper. Among the skills I see when I let myself look up from that piece of paper...
 
1. I manage crises--calmly. Crises that include suddenly due forms, suddenly sick kids, suddenly changed schedules.
 
2. I act with compassion. Compassion for tired kids, compassion for overwhelmed coworkers, compassion for friends handling more than they should have to.
 
3. I edit video and I write, but mostly, I tell stories.
 
4. I figure it out--whether "it" is the mastering of a new computer program, the making of dinner with no available time, the finding of things lost in a place where nothing is findable.
 
5. I may not be a fine artist, but I hold my own quite well when it comes to papier mâché, duct tape, beads, and paint.
 
6. I have the capacity for more patience than anyone should be expected to have.
 
7. I expect progress more than anyone has the right to expect.
 
8. I am more than who hires me, more than just my successes, and certainly more than just my failures.
 
While it may be important to have marketable, transferable, quantifiable skills that fit nicely on one page, we are more than just those skills. So, every once in a while, it pays to look beyond that piece of paper. Who knows what sets of skills we'll discover?