Once upon a time, my mother was the strongest, most courageous and daring woman I'd ever known. She could accomplish more in a few hours than most people could in a week. Don't even get me started on those rare occasions when she'd get fired up and angry. It was almost like she would take all the negative and dirty and literally create a clean, blank space. It was a thing of beauty to be admired from afar.
And then one day, I received the phone call that she had spent the majority of a week in the hospital, with a brief stint in intensive care. Scared doesn't even begin to describe what I'd felt. If life could catch up to such a vibrant woman like her, then what hope did I have? Thus began the years long struggle that transformed her from a robust force to a much more frail shell of her former being. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) stole her strength and withered her taut body. Medications made her appear puffy. Other medications made her really tired. We are still trying to find the right cocktail. Then, it hit a point to where she needed back surgery for a back that had already had issues. She scaled back the meds and the RA viciously attacked. For months and months (actually, most of a year, if I recall correctly), she was confined to a bed. You would have thought that this whole ordeal would have killed her spirit. But no, she calmly stated, she was happy to be alive. She had her senses, especially her sight, and every day she gave thanks to God.
Then came the day where she was able to move around in a wheelchair. Again, I inquired if she lamented at what was lost. She responded cheerfully, "Not at all." For once she was confined in bed, but now she had means to move around. It was then that I decided to start running. For I had legs with which to run and dance and I would chronicle my adventures to share with her. I shouldn't take for granted what I have.
Then came the day where she popped out of her wheelchair and she began to walk using a walker, working her way slowly to being less dependent on it. So if Mom could walk, then I needed to run. And run I did. By this time, I too had become a mother. Two of the most important females in my life (my mother and daughter) have motivated me to be better than what I'd expected.
It is for this reason that Motivating it Forward was born.
