You're My Inspiration

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

Often times I gain motivation from the inspiration of others. When I see other people achieving things in their own lives it makes me motivated to do the same. I have been blessed with many amazing women in my life - so many in fact that it is almost overwhelming.  The fact that I have been exposed to so many strong women in my lifetime has no doubt had a huge impact on who I am today. So, every once in a while, in no particular order,  I will post something about one of these women.  It will be a tribute to the example they have set for others, which in turn keeps me motivated to stay on track with my own goals. 

First up - one of my best friends.

This woman is part of an amazing group of gals who I call my best friends. The four of us have all known each other since the days of our youth and have been together through many life experiences over the years. 

This particular lady is an inspiration to me because life has thrown her a few unexpected surprises, and she has taken them in stride, almost making it look easy. She's the mother of four boys under the age of seven, including triplets.   She is the hub of everything in her home, the glue that keeps it all together, the one who gets it done. Her boys are her everything and she is everything to her boys. Sure, she has had the occasional melt down (who wouldn't?), but she only lets herself have a moment of insanity and then it is back to the task at hand. I have been to her house, I have seen how much work it is for her. Yes, I know there are lots of people who have more than one child, but not all at once by surprise. Any mother of multiples will tell ya, it's a different life!  On top of this, she has recently decided to go back into the workforce and have her three year olds in day care....a difficult decision I'm sure she had to make! Now it will be balancing work and family life, and all the chaos in between. She is an inspiration to me because she gets up every day and she does the best she knows how, to give her boys a good life.  I know that there are times when she feels torn because she cannot give a hundred percent attention to all of them at the same time, but she is doing her best, and she is doing a good job. There's much more to this lady than just the "Mom" hat that she wears, but for the sake of time lets just say thinking about this person gives me strength and motivation to keep going when I am feeling overwhelmed with day to day life. Thanks girl, you are my inspiration and therefore my motivation for today!

RANT OR RAVE

So after talking about the pretty little sunrise I was able to look out onto yesterday morning, I had another surprise in my back yard that afternoon.  The geese are back!

All is well until Gunther decides to go in for the kill and they start to get the heck out of there. 

Having an open back yard has it's perks in that we often get to be spectators to nature's creatures who decide to stop by and say hello. I was very surprised when I looked out the window and saw the geese visiting at this time of year. Usually they only hang out in the spring and fall. They usually come in huge flocks. The previous owners of our house said there were two geese in particular that came back to visit every year. They gave them food and names.

I forget what they named them, but after we moved in these two only came back a few times and then never returned because of this guy:

I also saw a blue jay hanging around my snapdragons last week. Every day he showed up. I wanted to take a picture but I was always busy with Maya.  On Saturday I was sitting under a tree with some relatives when we counted ten monarch butterflies scurrying around.

So when I saw the geese come back, it got me to thinking of some of the other nature type pictures we have been able to take from our own back yard over the past few years. 

Here are a few:

Eeeek! A coyote kept lurking around last summer. 

We see deer every so often. These two kiddies were so cute! They kept wrestling around the yard.

There is so much beauty around us. 

I like finding beauty everywhere I go, even if I am just on a trip to the gas station! There are so many times when I say to myself, "Oh look at that, it is so beautiful, I wish I had a camera with me!".  Many times this happens on my 45 minute commute to work through rural highways.  You would be surprised what you see driving down the same road on a daily basis. 

Anyhow, to my point. This Rave is about how much I love my back yard, and all the pretty little things in nature that one see's in a lifetime. These are the things that often keep me centred.  They help me remember that there are things bigger than me out there, and that my outward appearance is just one part of me.  So maybe once in a while I will post a picture or two that I have taken over the years of things that are beautiful in my eyes. So stay tuned for that.

NOTE TO SELF