Thanks Mom

Of all the people I've ever called "Mom" my favorite will always be my Mother. At work it is a name I use for the mothers that come to Disney to give them or their children direction. Because hey, not everyone walks around with their name labeled on their chest.  

Every time I call someone mom I think of my own.  I think about blanket forts that we made as kids and mom would let us have apples in our fort.  I think of making crackers and ramen noodles during the summer after we went swimming.  I remember her teaching me how to sew and how to cook. But I think one of the most important thing my mom has ever taught me was that I could do anything.  If I put my mind to it I could do it. She taught me to believe in myself and to work for I wanted.  I've done a lot so far with my life.  I've graduated from college and now I'm working for Disney taking pictures.  I love my job.  I never would have ended up here if it wasn't for my mother though.  

At the end of college during my last semester I was in full-on panic mode.  I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.  I had reached the end of my life plan. Mom encouraged me to go far. She gave me all kinds of suggestions about going far and finding myself.  And so I found the Disney college program, applied and got in.  Then I spent the first year out of college working food & beverage at Magic Kingdom.  I told everyone that what I really wanted to do was photopass because photography is my passion.  And I did it!  I got the job that I wanted! The very first person that I called was my mom.  I will never forget that moment calling my mom and telling her that I had got what I wanted.

Now that I'm older my relationship with my mom is different. She's now more of a friend then she used to be. But sometimes I wish that I could really be that dorky 8 year old kid again building blanket forts and eating ramen.  But I can never go back to that.  The past is in the past.  But the future is ahead of me. It looks a little dark and scary because I don't have any plans anymore.  I don't really know what I want so I don't really know what to put my mind to.  

But I had an awesome conversation with my mother today.  And she told me the most important thing I could possibly ever learn, to trust in God and put my life in his hands. I've always had faith in God but I've felt like he was more of a supplement to my life helping me to figure out what was next.  But now it's time to let Him take control and show me what is next. It's so much easier said than done. But I'm super grateful for a mother who listens well enough that she knows what needs to be said to calm my troubled little heart. I just wanted to say thanks mom. I love you!

When life gives you lemons...

So I'm sure you have heard the saying that 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade' aka make the best out of your circumstances. I suggest rather that When life gives you lemons make grape juice and let everyone wonder how you did it. 

Life is too short to spend it worrying about small things that 10 years from now aren't really going to matter.  What we should do is try to make the most out of life. Take time and enjoy it! You have got one life to live. 

This is as much for me as the rest of the world.  I have the hardest time enjoying life occasionally.  I worry, I picture the worst case scenarios.  Then, I try to scrub them from my mind. I choose to be the optimist.  I like to see the silver lining. I've travelled those tunnels that seem to have no light at the end.  But if I can create enough light then perhaps I can share it with someone else who may be struggling under a dark cloud.  

Life sucks guys. It is not easy. I don't think it was ever meant to be easy.  The only thing that we can do is try to make the best of what has been handed to us.  Yeah sometimes life hands you a big old bucket of trash. Don't settle for the garbage that life throws you take it and create something beautiful.