Double Nickels!

This past week both my parents celebrated their 55th birthday. My mom is such an inspiration to me. She has always lived with her heart on her sleeves, protected by her keen momma-bear-senses and no-nonsense attitude. She is a source of unwavering support in my life. She has reinvented herself several times in the past 55 years but always put her children first. She has known love, divorce, re-marriage, love of her parents and watching them become grandparents. She has become a grandparent herself and blossomed into the roll. She has known loss and grief, love and happiness, and, has taught me so much from each. She has had an amazing 55 years and grown into each new revision of herself with grace and just a smidge of dirt. Just enough to keep her humble. As I watched her blow out her candles this year with her grandbabies in her lap, I couldn’t help but envision the woman she will become over the next 50+ years. I continually find myself modeling my choices and actions as a parent based off the life of example she has shared with me. My dad is another source of inspiration and support in my life. He has lived a life of international travel and experiences just out of his comfort zone. He has a fantastic work ethic and is an example to live up to for myself and my kids. He has been with the same company for over 30 years and has been all over the world as one of the best in his field. He is a great example of the distance you can go if you stretch your wings. One of the things I admire most about my dad is his work and home life balance. He has always had a very high pressure job (although you wouldn’t know it by talking to him) and has always found time to support his family and his favorite hobby, fishing. I see so many people struggle with a proper balance, I myself at times have been overwhelmed by my work commitments and let the other important things in my life slide. My Dad has mastered the balance. The Zen he finds on the water, fishing poll in hand, has perfectly balanced his stressful work life. He has always set non-work related goals for himself, such as fish in the majors, and is exceptional at realizing those dreams. As he begins the closing chapters of his career I can’t help but wonder at the dreams he will realize and the goals he will accomplish with the ‘free’ time of retirement. Happy Birthday to both my parents. Thank you for being such beautiful individuals who continue to inspire, teach and radiate love in all that you do.