I was lying awake last night (as I do many nights since pregnancy seems to also cause insomnia) and was thinking about the people I truly look up to. I don't know how this thought popped into my head but it was a topic that seemed to stay with me for quite some time and I have decided to share my findings. The interesting thing I discovered is that I wasn't thinking about world leaders or any other famous people - although we should all take a moment and worship at the altar of Oprah - but those people who are closest to me and effect me most directly.
I will start off with my husband, Rob. The man I married is literally one of the smartest human beings I know and if I do say so myself can also clean and cook like nobody else's business. It's amazing that I can ask him any random question and he knows the answer. This is a man who yes, does enjoy watching sports occasionally but when he wants to watch television the station is usually turned to some smart channel like A&E, History or Discovery. He is always wanting to learn and become better. This does not mean he watches television a lot because he doesn't, how could he when I am in front of it all the time and threaten to cut his hand off if he changes the channel from Amazing Race? Not only does Rob not watch television a lot (which makes him so great) he also isn't a video game person. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind the video game thing at all but he knows how scared I get about children not getting enough exercise and becoming sedentary because of the tv and video games that so enthrall them. You might wonder why I love this about him, well, I know that my child's life will not be spent in front of a box projecting fake imagery; my child's life will be spent outside playing baseball, riding bikes and probably working on cars and doing woodshop because those are the types of things Rob likes to do in order to occupy his spare time. He is always moving and doing something, just watching what he can get accomplished in one day exhausts me! Finally, my husband can talk me down off any ledge I want to jump off. Whether it be because our beautiful house in Texas hasn't sold yet (and I don't understand why because it is soooo beautiful and if I could, I would dig it up off it's foundation and move it here!) or because I am so frustrated with pregnancy or even because the guy in the little red Honda Civic just completely cut me off with inches to spare and could have killed me, he knows how to handle me. How did I find someone who is able to handle me so well and just be so amazing? I don't really know the answer to that but thank God I did!
The next people who really inspire me are my in-laws. Bob and Francine are wonderful people and not are they only wonderful people but they are wonderful people who have been married 38 years (as of last Friday.) It's sad to say, but in the generation I grew up in we don't see people who have been together this long very often. Not only are Bob and Francine still married they are still in love and how cool is that? You can tell that there is no one they would rather spend their time with than each other and not only does my generation not see people who have been together for 38 years but we definitely don't see people who have been together for 38 years and still love each other and hold hands while walking down the street and giving one another kisses in front of everyone and laughing and hugging and just loving each other, (okay so I could go on forever because I think it's so freaking cute) but you get the point. They are amazing people and definitely a pair I look up to.
My sister Diane is just downright cool. If you are looking for an anchor in a storm, you have found the go-to girl. Not only is she THAT CALM in a bad situation she gives the best advice and NEVER makes you feel stupid for needing to hear it. And she tells the only joke she can remember ten years after hearing it and SHE still laughs like it's the first time she ever heard it (ask her about corduroy pillows.) Diane is someone who can always find the positive in a negative situation and every day I spend with her I am happy I have done so. She's my best friend who I can tell anything to and know that anything I have told her will stay with her and she will bolt it under lock and key and keep it, and she won't even use it later to get even with me when I have told mom about how she broke the window (she forgot the key to the house) when she was sixteen because she had a crush on the neighbor boy and he wanted to help her and then they called the police and someone really didn't try to break into our house BUT THAT BOY WAS JUST SO CUTE AND HE WANTED TO HELP HER! She's that wonderful, she'll keep my secrets even when I don't keep hers (but can you really blame me for not keeping that secret? It was such a great story to tell when my mother, sister and I had just shared a bottle of chardonnay 15 years after it had happened and we did have a good laugh over it until the next morning when Mom asked us to repeat the story so she could give us a sufficient reprimand. We were 28 and 32 and she reprimanded us!) So there you go, that's why I love and look up to my sister,,,, because she's cool!
Finally, my mom. Every time I even think about how much my mom gave up in order to raise my sister and me I get teary eyed. She truly was a mom before she was anything else and I know she struggled and went without so much in order to provide for us. Unfortunately, single parenting is quite normal nowadays but when I was growing up it was not. Mom was a single parent but the funny thing is I never would have known it because she was better than eight parents combined. Never did we go without emotionally and some people might find that weird to say but I find it to be the few words I can use to most honor my mom. We might not have had Girbaud jeans or expensive shoes but never did we ever go without the knowledge that our mother loved us more than life itself. I was raised with self esteem and a true mom who was always in the front row of any performance we had or any school honor we aquired. She was always cheering the loudest for us at our sports events and she was there for every tear I needed wiped away. This is what I always want to tell people when they ask me how and why I am so close with my mother. I may not be able to remember what I asked for on my 12th birthday and if I received it or not, because it is material. But I can tell you that I received a card every birthday and christmas telling me how much I was loved and cherished and after opening that card I was always given a huge hug and kiss and being told the same words that were written down in that card. I was loved and she knew that was her one goal in life, to make sure Diane and I knew we were important and could accomplish anything we put our minds to as long as we passed the love she gave on. I only hope I can be as good a parent as she is!
So yeah, it got kind of mushy there at the end but I challenge any person to truly think of how amazing their parents are and not get mushy; it's impossible! I have many people I look up to and find their accomplishments to be great but I figured out last night that you can really admire Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa but the people who will truly affect you in life are the ones closest to your heart. They are the people you can drink a bottle of chardonnay with and tell their secrets and know they won't tell yours!
