The Cheering Section

Do you have people in your life that act as your personal cheerleaders, encouraging and uplifting you when you need it most?

One of those people in my life is my cousin, Laura. I received a card in the mail from her today with pictures she took from the trip to Arkansas for our grandmother's funeral. The front of the card had the following message:

In my dream, the
angel shrugged &
said, If we fail
this time, it will be
a failure of imagination

& then she placed the
world gently in the palm
of my hand.

What a perfect message for me now! I attended a three-day conference this weekend for CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals Association). One of the last sessions dealt with not giving up on our goals, dividing most endeavors into three "zones": the A Zone (Starting), the B Zone (Struggling), and the C Zone (Succeeding). Our tendency is to want to give up during the B Zone - the difficult part, where all the tough lessons are learned. I'm in a major B Zone right now; I'm in the process of getting certified as a childbirth educator, and I'm in the middle of learning some difficult computer programs, which I need in order to accomplish some other goals. I'm working through roadblocks in both areas. I would really love to just cut to the chase: hold that CBE (childbirth educator) certification; be the master of my (computer) domain, designing web sites with ease (and I have two waiting for me). Oh, I can just taste it . . .

I have some major encouragers in my life. I tell Crew Mom that in the big game of life, she's my head cheerleader. Melissa wants me to build her a website; what a vote of confidence is that! My cousin, Queen Shenaynay, assures me that I am not crazy or alone, the two of us just exhibit some characteristics more typical of the males in our family. I have some friends, both personal and bloggity, who encourage me beyond measure with the comments with which they grace me. Do you have any idea how much you bless when you take the time to leave a comment, when you pray for a (sometimes) total stranger because their need has touched you? Just imagine yourself with a basketful of rose petals which you scatter along your way. Nice, huh? I've had email correspondence with a fellow blogger who brainstorms ideas for helping me with my problems, even though we've never met and she has personal worries of her own. Wow.

I am going to try not to be guilty of too much drive-by blogging - you know, read a post and keep moving without commenting. I do that way too often, or as Felicity would say, I do that "a much." That is my favorite kid phrase of the moment. Instead of a lot of something, Felicity refers to it as "a much," as in, "I want a much of ice cream," or this morning when she first used her potty seat and said she "went a muchy much!" Gotta love it! Blessings to you today!