The Writings of Masters & My Grandchildren

The question is who do I get my daily inspiration from?

The first part of my blog today is dedicated to my favorite writer and poet Dr. Maya Angelou. The second part is dedicated to my beautiful, awe-inspiring grandchildren, Alley, Colley, and Kenzie. They inspire me, encourage me to appreciate the simple things and make me laugh.

Dr. Maya Angelou started out of humble means, had a child at a young age, sacrificed her morals for survival and redirected her life toward her goals. She is a woman of such integirty. A woman who inspires. A few years ago she was on the Oprah show. She discussed what she has learned from life. It was perfect.

Dr. Angelou said, "I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."
"I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."
"I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.
"I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life".
"I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance."
"I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back."
"I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
"I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one."
"I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back."
"I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn."
"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

A few months back I took my daughter and 3 grandchildren to Richmond. I had a class to attend and I thought it could be a fun overnight trip. My grandson Alex slept in the bed with me. Early in the morning, he woke up and told me about his dream. I told him that I had a dream that I ate a giant marshmellow and I woke up and my pillow was gone. His eyes got very big. He looked at my belly. He climbed out of bed and found a pillow on the floor, a "Plilo" as he called it. He ran over to me, handed it to me and said, "Look GaGa, You must have burped". I laughed until I cried.

Collin, Alex and I took a long walk around the lake by my home this past fall. There is a path that extends all the way around the lake. When we got to the farside of the lake, Collin began to run ahead. From the area of the path we were on, we could see the road. There was a chain link fense preventing Collin from going into the road but Alex did not notice it. Alex looked at the road, stopped talking to me and ran up to stop his brother Collin from going near the road. He said "Colley, you have to hold my hand, we are close to a road" Collin reached over and put out his hand without even questioning and Alex held it. For the rest of the walk, Alex and Collin walked infront of me holding hands. Alex kept saying to his brother, "I'll keep you safe Colley". It made me smile and cry, both at the same time. MacKenzie has both of her brothers spirit. It is wonderful to watch them blossum into funny, loving, devilish, beautiful, amazing people. Most of all, I get such pride knowing I created the woman that created them. It takes a wonderful mother to produce such incredible children.

I used to wonder what contributions I would make to the world. Going into medicine, would I find the cure for cancer? Would I do something to make a mark on the world at all? Suddenly, watching my grandchildren it dawned on me. I contributed their mother and she contributed them. Boy, how lucky the world is to get such precious gifts.