Quite A Lot.

My nephew is the youngest history buff I've ever met, and is a huge fan of "usin' army men t' set up battles," as well as dressing for the occasion.

The kid loves hats. Cowboy hats. Abe Lincoln's top hat. Army hats.

(I could go on and on, but if I did, I might steal thunder from the overflowing toy box in his room that's pretty much reserved specifically for hats.)

Yesterday, while my brother-in-law was working on something for Caleb's room, Caleb rushed downstairs to where my sister was and said, "You might wanna come up here and see me."

At this point in the story, I wondered where it was going. I mean, did he have a special job to help with his dad's project? Did he have a battle set up? What exactly was there to see...about HIM?

When my sister went upstairs, she found out.

There stood a beaming Caleb, loaded down with three play guns, other weapons, a vest from the French Revolution, and a hat from a battle I didn't catch specifics of.

When my sister commented on Caleb's outfit, he grinned and stated, "I've got quite a lot on."

Aside from being adorably quotable, isn't that exactly like me? (Ha... Really! Ha!)

I want my playtime when I want it, I love the things that make me uniquely rebekah, I do what I need to do to get by, but dadgummit, when it's time for the attention meter to be fed, puh-leeze come upstairs and comment gushingly when I've taken on "quite a lot!" This type of load doesn't need to go unnoticed! And especially not when I feel it's time for some credit.

While I'm not particularly proud of this self-realization, I do hope it'll help me be more aware about how I'm setting up my "battles" and what I am putting on -- and not just clothing-wise.

Long day at the office? What attitude am I choosing to wear?

Too tired to work out? Where's that self-discipline hat?

Exhausted from that person who always seems to withdraw more than she deposits? How about the perfume of kindness?

With any luck, foresight into these things will help me be prouder to show off the "quite a lot" I've got on when something big's occurring, instead of needy for the notice because I'm overwhelmed.