Today I'm going to talk about courage.
My mom lived a courageous life, she taught me that fear should never stop you. If something seems hard to me, I can hear mom saying it’s ok, she would tell me “you can do it!” Here are some examples of how brave my mom was.
It takes courage to jump into a marriage with a two day engagement period. After my parents were dating for a while in Los Angeles, dad told mom that he got a job in Philadelphia and he was moving the following week. Well, they decided they would get married and move together. So, on a Monday they made plans and on Wednesday they got married! Friends and family all called each other to spread the news. They were packed up and on their way to a new life on the other side of the country, I am happy to say, their marriage lasted 47 years.
It takes courage to jump into a marriage with a two day engagement period. After my parents were dating for a while in Los Angeles, dad told mom that he got a job in Philadelphia and he was moving the following week. Well, they decided they would get married and move together. So, on a Monday they made plans and on Wednesday they got married! Friends and family all called each other to spread the news. They were packed up and on their way to a new life on the other side of the country, I am happy to say, their marriage lasted 47 years.
It takes courage to move from Los Angeles to Bend, Oregon. While living in LA mom and dad visited friends up in Oregon. At that time Bend did not have a McDonalds....very small town. After that trip, they decided that they should live there, that way dad could ski every weekend, and not leave mom home with two small kids. I was four months old and Chet was one and a half when they moved to Bend, with no job and no place to live. WHO DOES THAT?
It takes courage to start going to college at age 47. Growing up, I remember hearing mom say that she wished she had gone to college. As her kids were leaving for college she decided, hey, I want to go too, I guess I should then! She started taking classes and graduated from Central Oregon Community College. That was a big graduation year, Nori finished high school, and I finished college. Mom and dad moved so Mom could go to Portland State. After she received her Bachelor’s degree she decided to keep on going. She ended up graduating with her master’s degree in her sixties. She joked that she went to work just so she could retire.
It takes courage to do your first triathlon at age 65. Nori and I did a couple of short triathlons, with the family cheering us on and Mom got inspired. This excitement encouraged us to buy Mom a bike so she could start training and get in shape. She didn’t want to swim in a dirty lake, so we found a pool triathlon. When mom finished the swim, the entire pool deck started clapping. We were all so proud of her.
It takes courage to get your first passport at age 69. Damon and I decided to move to China for a couple of years and mom did NOT want us to take her grandkids away from her. Mom told me, she didn’t want to go to China, but if it was really important to me then she would think about it.
All I needed to do was tell her I was lonely and it was hard to live in China so far away, I told her I missed her so much. Damon, Nicole, Trejan and I all wanted our family to visit! Well, Mom and Dad flew to China three months after we arrived. Mom didn’t like to travel, (Dad had even gone to Japan a few times without her). She hated flying, but that didn’t stop her from jumping on the plane, going across the world to give her grandkids hugs and kisses. That is proof of love, and courage.
Mom lived a very courageous life, she set an example for me. Do not to be afraid to do something, if you are afraid, it is ok, just do it anyway. She lived this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, “You must do the thing you think you can not do”.
Mom taught me to be strong and courageous.
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