The Gallery: Inspirational People

This week’s Gallery theme is Inspirational People, which should be easy, except for the sticky bit that we must use a picture of our own.

Which kind of knocks Mother Theresa, Julia Child, Ansel Adams and Martha Stewart (not that she is on the same rank in degrees of inspiration, but dang, the woman can create stuff out of…other stuff) straight off the list of possible topics.

So today, I’m going to look a tad bit closer to home.

My kids.

Boo is, well, in many ways, too much like me. He is overly sensitive. Creative. A dreamer, but with a practical side that keeps him grounded.

A worrier.

So.

He inspires me to be a better person. And, well, to be a little less like me (worrier, anxious, reactionary) because I don’t want him to see that side of me, or, really, to be that person. He makes me want to be more take-it-as-it-comes, calm, and responsive. To live in the moment and not by “the plan”. He inspires me to stand my ground, to be more confident, to keep a positive outlook.

All the things I want him to be, and to do.

I think he’s a pretty great kid.

* * *

For Pea, nothing is impossible. When she grows up, she wants to be a veterinarian.

Or a princess.

Or a veterinarian princess. It wouldn’t surprise me if she managed both.

When she wants something, she puts her mind to it. She doesn’t back down. She stands her ground. She gets on with it (whether you want her to, or not…) On Monday, she said “I worked really hard today, but I wasn’t the Star of the Day. But that’s ok. I’ll try again tomorrow”.

And you know what?

She did it.

Pretty darn pleased with herself, she is.

And getting that star is not the end of the road. She wants to get another one. Or two. And she says she works hard every day, so if she doesn’t always get one, that’s ok too.

I love that she knows exactly what she wants, and that is that. (Unless she doesn’t know what she wants. THAT, my friends, is not so inspirational, and a totally different post.)

She inspires me to go after what I want. She also inspires me to look at resolving issues from a different perspective, and challenges me to…for lack of a better term…to find my happy place.

And, along the way, to be a better person (read: not a screaming shrew of a woman).

But what inspires me most about my children is their outgoing personalities and their sense of adventure. Moving them to another country at ages 3 & 5 would have scared the bejeesus out of me (I was a timid little mouse) and they rose to the occasion and have adapted so well. All my research into making this kind of move stated that the success of the children depended on how well Mom handled the transition, so they inspired me to cry when they weren’t looking stay open-minded, upbeat and happy. I could only dream of being as outgoing and confident as my two, and they inspire me to push myself beyond my own self-fears every day.

edited to add: Pea’s goal after getting that star was to get the merit that week “because they always give it to the one who earned the star”. Not trying to crush her dreams but prepare her for a possible alternate outcome, I reminded her that they give out 5 stars a week, one each day.

And wouldn’t you know, she GOT that merit on Friday!