Half my life ago, my 18th birthday, I remember with great detail. I told my parents I was pregnant at the end of the day. I thought my good life was over, my dreams devastated. The coming weeks were to bring Division I university visits for me who were recruiting me to join their track and field team but I felt my life was shredded, hopes gone and dreams done. I knew this baby had to come first but how I wasn’t sure. What I learned over the past 18 years is that there is a far greater plan for our lives than just today. We cannot orchestrate it. There is a trust and faith to live out to find the grand plan for our lives, to live out a greater purpose.
My good life was far from over. It was just getting started. Today I am 36 years old and tonight I will watch the greatest gift age 18 gave me, my son play basketball in a small-town gymnasium.
A couple of years ago, my sister hacked my blog for my birthday and posted some of my ugly and joyous moments of life. It’s a fun look back for me, complete with pink glasses and permed hair.
A new, complete full circle look back for me is featured in a Fargo, North Dakota based magazine on the minds of moms. There are no permed hair, pink glasses photos. Instead there are new family photos I will treasure forever from rialee photography and below are a couple of captures.
Read the accepting interruptions article here. Also if you are local you definitely want to sign up to attend their first-ever on the minds of moms live event on February 7 in Fargo. (Buy tickets today before they are sold out! I’ll meet you there.)
When I blogged about North Dakota’s Measure 6 in late October 2014, the joint parenting initiative that failed in the November 2014 elections, I knew the on the minds of moms feature was soon to be published and knew more of my story would be told there. I was harassed by some in social media and even took a wretched phone call to my house that I should share more of my story and I was not telling the whole story. I also received over 150 encouraging emails and the blog post was read by thousands of North Dakota voters. It was another life lesson that defined me.
I have never been comfortable writing out every detail of my life story, not because I am ashamed but more to protect the privacy of many involved. It’s not my story alone. It is the story of many, most who have encouraged and supported me but a few who have hurt me. Yet they all have defined me.
We all have a story as I share in the on the minds of moms feature. I think it is up to you to define your story.
For age 36 and for 2015, my one word I am focusing on for growing myself for my family, passions and businesses is define.
Looking at the magazine and reading the story that Sherri Stockmoe wrote helped define me for this upcoming year. (A special thank you to Dani Fluge and Sheri for their positive encouragement in making the article happen.) I have received messages from people I have never met, longtime acquaintances I have not spoken to in years and encouraging words from dear friends because of the on the minds of moms feature.
I can see now that my 18th birthday helped define me. Today, at age 36, I am more defined in who I am and where I am going than I could have known half my life ago. I am encouraged and motivated to speak out more on the issues I am most passionate about and working to focus my time on the things that matter most to me. My life is still a story I am defining while I continue to learn to accept the interruptions thrown my way.
How are you defining yourself in 2015?
