To the 9:00am Walker: 5 Simple Words

On my way home from running (driving!) errands yesterday, I saw her. Yes, there she was again. She's so predictable! Does she ever stop? Does she ever miss a day? She's always out there -- doing her thing.

She is ... wholly devoted. Completely fit, athletic attire, tanned, gray hair, walks at a very rapid clip. Every day. Every.Single.Day. Rain or Shine. Sleet and even snow. No headphones or Ipod. No water bottle. No distractions. So much focus and consistency.

She completely inspires me.

Not long ago, I actually crossed paths with her on a run (don't get any ideas, people. It's not like I was actually exercising. I was running away from my issues!!!). But I didn't take time to stop and tell her that she inspires me. So, this post is for her. And it's for all the women out there who inspire me -- and so many of us -- to be more than we would be without each other's example.

Problem is ... we don't take time to tell each other.

I am in awe of the moms I know (and those I don't know) who manage career responsibilities, as well as motherhood and family. Oh how I admire you! Your intelligence is applied daily in the workplace. (Please tell us how you have maintained your ability to walk in heels after bearing children? We are so envious). Your children watch as you balance responsibilities outside the home with being a wife and a mom. You are blessing them with your example and they are learning independence and self-sufficiency. You inspire us by your leadership. And for the record, oh how I love that you wear fashionable business attire and carry cool, stain-free handbags every day. (And so does my daughter: "Um, mom, are you seriously wearing those workout clothes again? ... Especially since you didn't even work out?").

I am amazed at the volunteers at our children's schools -- PTA, Foundation, Classroom Moms, some whose names we know, others whose names we don't know, but whose faces we see again and again and again (do you live there)? Thank you for serving so selflessly to help our children and our schools. We respect you and we are grateful. You inspire us to get involved, too.

Speaking of schools, here's to homeschooling moms. You inspire us. Actually, you astound us. How do you assess, prepare, teach, plan, and grade curriculum for your children, plus be a mom and wife? WHEN DO YOU GROCERY SHOP, we ask? Thank you for bravely, confidently, and deliberately choosing to take a different path, one that is, in many ways, a path that is more complicated. You honor the world with your choice and we learn by your example. And P.S: Some of us can barely survive eight weeks of summer with kids pretending to be barking dogs at home all day. How do you survive 360 days homebound and still produce the most well-rounded, mannerly, scholarly children we've ever met? Really, homeschooling moms, you are a marvel and we salute you and the children you are raising.

The moms out there who live with chronic illnesses, those battle debilitating diseases every single day, and those who have kicked (or will kick) cancer and other diseases to the curb ... you inspire us. Many of you go to bed each night with feet hurting so badly you have to crawl to bed and you wake up the very same way. Your bodies are so weak you often require hospital stays for IV nourishment. You rely on family and friends to help shuttle kids to and fro while you're at your 90th doctor visit, yet you do not complain. We watch you and realize we have taken our own health for granted. Your warrior spirit is humbling and your humor through it all gives us new perspective.

Single parents. Those of us who have a partner probably agree, we would be hard-pressed to parent alone. We salute you, single parents, soldiering the responsibilities of your children, your career, your home ... alone. I have witnessed the sacrifices single moms make. My step-mother was a single mom. They love fiercely, protect powerfully, and work from dusk until dawn. There is nothing they wouldn't do for their children. You inspire us.

Thanks to the mom I saw at the grocery store a few days ago who reminded me of the importance of pink tutus ... especially when coupled with too-short pajama tops with our belly button showing, polka-dot swimsuit bottoms, mis-matched socks (because WE DON"T WANT TO GET OUR FEET DIRTY TODAY!), and flip flops. It was really sweet of you to validate that it's okay to be disheveled, noisy, and on the verge of falling apart, as we pull canned lima beans off the grocery shelf and cause tomato sauce spillage which ends up looking like blood trauma from an R-rated horror movie or a really bad scene from Grey's Anatomy. I didn't get your name, but if I would have, I would gladly send you a hand-written thank you note and maybe even home-made cookies (the Toll-House frozen home-made kind ... I'm not that crazy). You made my day. Oh, and I'm really thankful we had the white socks on, too, because they got ruined. They are blood red now. Lovely. But at least the FEET STAYED CLEAN!

Speaking of the wonderful stranger from the grocery store .... Thanks to the cheerleaders in our lives. Because, when covered in blood, or lima beans, or tomato sauce, you really need one! They are the friends, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters who lift you up when the world has sucked you under. They are the ones you call when life has left you feeling cheated, defeated, dismal, and depressed. They are the folks who know your good parts and your not-so-good parts. They are the ones you can be real with and they love you anyway. Some of us have a few; some of us have a football field full of them. It doesn't matter. It only takes one. Thanks to our cheerleaders, the people who believe in us when the world doesn't.

So many people who inspire us. So many people to be thankful for. So ... your turn now.

Thank you. You inspire me. Just 5 simple words. Yet so profound. I wish I would have stopped to tell the gray-haired walker those words when I met her on my prison break a while back. Next time I will. Forward this to a few people who inspire you. And be sure to tell them why.

I'd love you to check out Willamena Picklepants and a Case of the No Good, Really Mean Words, available on Amazon.com and tell me what you and your kids think. We love to hear how Willamena is speaking to children (and adults). Thanks for sharing your stories with us ... it matters! YOU matter!