Life-Time Skills

In my response to Kathryn's recent entry about learning to use HTML code, I noted that although I’m not familiar with it, I think that knowing such code has to be a handy life-time skill. Which led me to consider what else I believe to be life-time skills, i.e., skills learned only with lots of practice and later reincarnated to serve one in other ways.

For example, learning to type is a life-time skill that I acquired when I was in high school. In that pre-computer age, my only reason for doing it was to be able to type papers for future college assignments. Little did I know how eminently practical the skill would become some 40+ years later. Now I type, not only at home on my laptop, but am finding myself using it increasingly more often at work, as my department converts to electronic medical records.

Another category of life-time skills is sewing. My first awkward sewing projects were two corduroy skirts that my mother paid me $5 each to make for myself. It was an inspired idea on her part and it introduced me to the advantages of making my own clothes. But even more, I now have the skill to make most anything that can be sewn—often as presents for family and friends.

A third set of life-time skills are prepared childbirth techniques. I tell my patients that learning to distract oneself using relaxation and effleurage will stand them in good stead for years to come. Whenever I have invasive dental work, which I absolutely hate (having endured 3 teen-age years of orthodontia,) I use both techniques to help me get through the pain.

I could go on and on, but I’d like to know what my Readership see as life-time skills--