You Shine!

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.  Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” – Maya Angelou

I don’t know about you, but I love to be around enthusiastic, positive people!  In fact, I tend to gravitate towards them instinctively ~ wanting to get to know them and to watch how they shine!  In my blog, I often close with “Shine On” as I think it is a good reminder to all of us to continue our journeys of finding our light ~ and then shining brightly in order to inspire others!

As Moms, we are blessed with being the first role models our children rely on.  Hopefully to them, we shine in our own special ways, allowing them to see how fulfilling it is to love what you do and to do what you love ~ whatever it is that we decide to do!  For you see, being a parent is just one piece of the pie that is Mom, don’t you agree?

When we define ourselves as Moms, we are not just saying that we birthed or adopted our offspring.  We wear an array of hats during our lifetime and it’s important that as we travel through the role, that we bend and mold ourselves as we see fit.  Mothering is a verb, a 24 hour/365 day way of living.   As you know, it’s not for the faint of heart, but even those of us who feel weak in the knees at times are still up for the Mom of the Year Award in our families.

For me, in my 40s, I found that stay at home Mom-hood wasn’t enough for me.  At some point, that all-encompassing role that I’d happily taken on needed to be readjusted in my life.  It’s not that I didn’t want to be a Mom anymore, but that I wanted more for myself ~ I wanted to stretch out of my comfort zone into more adventurous territory.  But where to start?  How to start?

I began simply, by remembering the girl I was before I was married and had children.  That girl who put herself first more often than not, but not in a selfish way.  That girl who felt her Inner Hotshot and wasn’t afraid ~ she simply tried ~ succeeded or failed ~ picked herself up and kept going ~ even if it took baby steps.

I found that strength helpful when I was enduring breast cancer almost 12 years ago at age 34.  As the years have gone by, I have learned lesson after lesson about myself from that simple sentence, “you have breast cancer’ uttered on New Year’s Eve of 2001.  I have grown by leaps and bounds both mentally, physically and emotionally.  I have found my inner strength, my passion in helping others and I have the impact I can make by inspiring my children to reach for the stars, knowing the power is within themselves.

I learned the true meaning of The Presents of Presence which is to enjoy the moment that we’re in, to look up to the skies and to feel gratitude for all that we cherish.  Perhaps in my life, I won’t be remembered by many, but only by the few that I leave behind, I pray that the legacy that lives on in the hearts of those who knew me is one of gratitude for having known me.  However, until then, I soldier on, Mom at the ready for another amazing adventure on this journey of life!

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  I was featured on the Joy of Mom website today with this same post!  Thanks to Susan and Flo for including me! xo   The Savvy Sister