Inspiration is Everywhere

Good afternoon!

I've written many times that we have to keep our eyes open because there are inspiring people everywhere.  And not every lesson for us comes from other caregivers.

Case in point was my flight home last night.  After a very, very long day of working and flying I boarded the last 75 minute flight for home.  A few minutes later a lady sat next to me looking about as weary as I was.  I joking asked her if she was going to cause any trouble during the flight and she smiled and said she would consider it but its really too late at night to get too out-of-hand.  With that we introduced ourselves and began a chat which wouldn't end until we reached our destination gate.

As we took off our conversation had gone from where we spent the week, what we do for a living, and then our families.  As usual I told some of my favorite stories about Tyler and our experiences especially over the last year.  To her credit she managed to stay awake through them all.  I can't tell you for sure how much of an impression I made on her, but hearing her story made quite an impression on me.

After listening to my experiences and stories she explained that she is the Mom to 2 extraordinary children.  Each one with the strength to pursue their passions in life.  The pride in her voice was unmistakable when she described how both of them developed into successful and contributing adults.  What makes this so inspiring was the fact that she was forced to raise her children alone after the sudden passing of her husband.  Through such unbelievable loss she and her children banded together and not only figured out how to survive, but how to live fulfilling lives.  She continued her own education and now works to prolong the lives of people suffering from cancer.

As she told her story, so many things resonated through her words.  We have to live our lives without guarantees of any kind.  And no matter what does happen we have to figure out how to always move forward even after getting knocked backward.  And perhaps most importantly that we model the right messages for our children.  

Sometimes all of us, regardless of our circumstance, need a reminder of messages like these.   As I always say, we have to LISTEN to the messages around us all the time.  If I had just thrown my headphones on and ignored everyone I would have never had the honor to meet such an amazing person with so much poise, grace, and determination.  It made me step back and think about how I want Samantha to view me as her Father.  

Be well and God bless.   Tom