This blog is not about my mother

My mother taught me many things.  She taught me compassion.  She taught me to laugh at myself.  She taught me how to get things done when resources are few.  She taught me survival.  She taught me that some things are worth doing simply because it is the right thing to do.  She taught me the value of a good bargain.  She taught me girl talk.  She taught me the importance of family.  She taught me to reflect.  She taught me to love unconditionally.  She is still teaching me.

But this blog is not about my mother.

This blog is about me.

It's about the notion that at some point we are supposed to be grown up - complete with all the knowledge and wisdom generated by our youth - and that we eventually become the adult people we were raised to be.  We can then, in turn, pass our completeness to our own children and raise them with our complete wisdom as though every day means the world.

This blog is about me, figuring it out as I go along.  Because I'm not there yet.  I'm not complete.  I'm not done growing and learning.  I'm not who I want to be yet. 

I'm a philosopher by nature and a teacher by trade.  I believe in the power of inquiry and reflection.  But there is a not-so-fine line between being a life-long learner and being one who is so focused on the goals that she forgets to appreciate the journey.  See, I believe that every day DOES mean the world.  So, I am trying to summon the courage to carve time from the big picture to just be.  Just be who I am.  Right now.  Today.  I am trying to summon the courage to put aside my plans and my goals to share that honestly and confidently with the people who love me.  

So this blog is also about me, figuring it out as I go along.  Life and loved-ones don't stop and wait while we research and make lists and plan the future.  Sure, the possibilities are endless and my dreams are big.  But today is finite, and I only have one chance to live it.  Today, I was a mother, a wife, a novice yogi, a cook and a floor sweeper.  That's a pretty good day.

I hope to share (for myself, my children, posterity at-large, and anyone else who cares to read it) some of what I am figuring out and the other stuff I'm doing along the way.  Some of it may be big, some will be small, and most of it (sorry, Mom) will be things my mother never taught me.