Since June, my life has been full and busy. Filled with devastating lows and incredible highs. 

In the midst of all of it, though, I feel like I’m losing part of myself. 

So when I turned the calendar page to September, I set a goal for myself: to complete thirty five-minute writing exercises, one for each day of September. 

(Note – This isn’t the first time I have written blog posts about five-minute writing exercises. Here’s a link to a post I wrote about them back in August of 2025.)

While my goal seemed completely doable, I’ve already missed some days. 

And you know what? I did something I rarely do. 

I cut myself some slack. I didn’t make myself write at 11:00 pm, when I struggled just to keep my eyes open. 

I just accepted it — I missed a few days. 

But, I’ve also written a few days. 

I’ve been using some of the prompts from Keep Moving – The Journal by Maggie Smith as my starting-off point for these writing exercises.

The prompt I wrote to the other day has stayed with me: “What are some of your ‘worst’ qualities?”

Since I’m publishing my memoir in Spring 2028, I started thinking about what you’ll learn about me from my book. And, what you won’t learn about me. 

This week, I wanted to share with you a more complete idea of who I am, beyond the identities of former teacher, mother, wife, and current chronic illness patient. 

Here then is my response to “What are some of your ‘worst’ qualities?”:

– I find it difficult to say No.

– I am always trying to please those closest to me.

– I do not put my own needs, my own self-care, at the top of any of my to-do lists.

– My Monica Geller-like ways. (In case you don’t know, Monica Geller was the fictional character on Friends portrayed by Courteney Cox.) For example, the way I load the dishwasher. Then, the way I empty the dishwasher and attempt to circulate our dishes, so the just-washed plates go at the bottom of the stack of dishes.

– My aversion to conflict. Which means I don’t always express my anger, my frustration, and/or my disappointment in the moment.

– My tendency to over-apologize, especially for things I have no control over. (Like apologizing for all the traffic when our family is headed out somewhere.)

– The way I’m always focused on work before pleasure. 

– My inclination to wait around for someone to offer me and give me what I’d like, instead of me having to come out and ask for it. (And I don’t mean giving me a physical item, but giving me a break from making dinner, for instance.)

Thank you, friends, for reading. 

I’d love to know more about you — what do you consider to be one of your “worst” qualities? Feel free to share in the comments, if you feel comfortable doing so. 

Please note: I am including a link to buy the book that I’m highlighting this week. If you use my link, I do make a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you. I am working with Bookshop.org which also sends a portion of the profit to support local, independent bookstores.