Rockin' Grandma

Sunday is the day of the week that I like to catch up on phone calls with the fam.

Today it was with one of my favorite people.  My grandmother.  She's 83 years old but don't tell her that.

She an avid bowler and has been for over 20 years. She loves to go to the gym for water aerobics classes, keeps busy with her yard sale hobby and is very active in her senior clubs.  She's a dynamo!  I only hope to be that outgoing when I'm her age.

I always enjoy my conversations with my grandmother. We're extremely close and can easily spend an hour on the phone with each other.  She's also one of the funniest people I know and always manages to make me laugh.  Although, I enjoy it most when I say something that gives her a hearty chuckle. She's an amazing lady who continues to inspire me.

My joy moment today was my phone conversation with my fabulous grandmother.  She's my hero, I feel blessed to have her in my life.

My granny rocks!  :-)

Stay tuned :-)

The Temple Grandin Story

Rainy day in Southern California today. For a change the weathermen didn't lie, LOL.  At least it was Saturday and I could do what people always say they'd like to do on a rainy day... get under the covers and watch TV.   The longer it stormed, the longer I could pretend I wasn't being completely lazy.

I ended up catching a great movie on HBO, The Temple Grandin story.  The true story of a woman who was born with Autism yet was also incredibly brilliant.  When Temple was just four years old, the doctors told her mother that her daughter had a mental illness and recommended she commit her to an institution.  Her mother declined and refused to give up on her. Instead, she decided to get Temple all the resources she could and pushed her to go to school, which later helped reveal her amazing gifts.  Incredibly, with a condition that can be extremely limiting, Temple acquired a Masters Degree, a Doctorate and made incredible innovations in the area of animal science. 

Her story is amazing and inspirational. Claire Danes, the actress who plays Temple, does a great job of illustrating her story and difficult journey.  Julia Ormand, the woman who played her mother, gives a passionate portrayal of a mother who will do everything to make sure her daughter is not treated less than. 

It's a wonderful story of a mother's love and a young girl's battle against the odds.  One of the things that gave Temple strength was advice from a mentor that she find the courage to walk through each door because she never know what opportunities might be on the other side.  Watching her story and seeing how she found the courage to walk through doors, during many trying circumstances was moving.

Her story inspired me.  With all that she had to overcome, many would have given up, she never did. Watching her story, made me realize I should never even let the thought cross my mind.   If I ever slip up, I will now think of a great woman named Temple.

Great story, great message. Not bad for a rainy day!

Stay tuned. :-)

Inspiration

Tonight, I got a pep talk.  Very unexpected.  Not requested. Out of the blue.

I just finished watching a movie with my dear friend.  I  was reading the credits, and was surprised to see that the lead actor in the film also penned the script. He wasn't a big name actor, but he did have a role in a sitcom.  I shared this with my friend and he flatly said, "you could do that".

I tossed him a weak grin and continued watching TV.  Noticing, he said it again, "you could".  "You could create your own show or write a movie if you wanted".   At this point, I give him a bewildered look, trying to figure out where this is coming from, as this is a person who rarely speaks and is king of the one word answer.

He goes on and on about all the things I've done in the past, my skills, etc. I'm staring at him, half listening, mostly wondering if he's had too much caffeine or if I'm being punked.

He then said, "I believe in you and I don't even know all the things that you can do.  You should believe in yourself".  That one stuck... and nudged me out of my complacency.

I don't know what prompted him to tell me that.  He told me he didn't know either, but maybe it was something I needed to hear. "Perhaps God was trying to tell you something", he said.  I think he's right.  I  do believe God tries to tell us things and that He works in mysterious ways.

I hear you.  I'm going to get on it!

God bless the messenger.

Stay tuned. :-)