2013 Resolutions for a New Year

I took a read down memory lane with the past 2 years January entries, in all modesty sometimes I really surprise myself.  J  I skimmed through some blogs by others which brought this conclusion “everyone has something to say, and occasionally it is powerful”.  When I think about your basic run of the mill person, Every Man or Jane Doe I believe that they genuinely want to be good, they want to live life well – not as a celebrity or by living the high life, but simply to do good and be good.  We are ordinary people who sometimes have extraordinary things to say, do, be.

       I have a wonderful example living with me.  My mother.  Here is a woman who has lived a very quiet life but if you had occasion to speak with her you would realize that she has also lived a remarkable life. 

·         Born in 1933 she was the first born of the second marriage of her father to his brother’s sister-in-law and so 2 sisters were married to 2 brothers and the family was knit together in a way that lasts to this day.  Family Ties.

·         Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940 but despite this truly suppressing ordeal my mother lived most of the time oblivious to the dangers.  Her oldest brother was a saboteur in the underground and risked his life countless times but for Mor he was just her older brother.  Resilience.

·         She finished school at 15 but went on to night school to complete her secretarial / bookkeeping courses (standard for her day) and maintained an A average throughout this time even though she held a full time job as an accounting clerk at the same time as well as a busy social life.  Educated.

·         Married her soul mate, bore 7 children, supported her husband’s career with constant moves first in Denmark and then in Canada.  Endurance.

·         Living by example my mother raised 6 children who believed her to be the Rock of Gibraltar and if she was not at home when we came home from school it was a national catastrophe in our little world.  My mother never took sides, never spoke ill of anyone and yet she could discipline us without any qualms.  Earth Mother.

·         She will sit quietly and then suddenly make a comment out of left field.  She’s been thinking or remembering and then she shares her thoughts.  This is new for her as while Dad was alive he was the dominant talker in the family but even then she would often share something that surprised me but which stayed with me forever.  Mom has her own brand of philosophy that makes her an Individual.

Just some thoughts on how each person who is in our life has something valuable to share with us, if we’d only “listen”.  Now there’s a resolution.