My Inspiration

The election is over. I have been moved by many things, but none more than my mother. She found her voice in life after many years of quieting herself for the perceived benefit of her family. She did what she thought she had to do. She endured. When I was about 16 she really began to find her voice and by the time I was 18 she heard it too.

She has worked tirelessly to stand up and be heard. She has worked on behalf of those who are often quieted. I see the connection. I feel inspired. My mom was raised in a small town on a farm. Last week she was walking miles and miles for hours and hours, literally, in one of the worst areas of Flint, MI to make sure that EVERY person knew their rights, their polling place and their worth. She was often paired up with people more than half her age and she kept on going. She was stopped in a neighborhood and asked what she was doing there. She told them, their eyes and spirits met. That is what mattered. My mom sees people for who they are beyond the exterior in a way that people respond to. She saw devastation from industry that no longer exists in a neighborhood demolished, partially burnt down and ravaged by the circumstance of loosing a factory in what was once a middle class working neighborhood.

My mom is tough. Dedicated. Hard working. Motivated. Courageous. She is the epitome of what is happening everywhere. She is working to bring people together. She worked for her job and then on her own on every one of her days off for the past several months to work toward hope. Hope in elections big and small and proposals popular and unpopular. She walked the streets of Meridian Township, she walked the streets of Flint. She walked in the sun, she walked in the rain. She had doors slammed in her face, she was greeted with anger and she kept on going. She knew that if one person was informed, touched or motivated it was worth it. She was also greeted with hope, which kept her going. She had strangers over to her house to make calls to get out the vote. Strangers with a common cause-which of course bonded them beyond knowing each other personally, but rather knowing each others commitment and values. She did the things that many people are intimidated to do and she did it without complaint and with determination.

I have hope. Thanks mom. She doesn't read blogs, she doesn't get putting all of your feelings out-especially to strangers...but the funny thing is that is what she does in person every day she empowers someone else or is there to hear them. We are more alike than different. I owe my mom a lot. She continues to inspire me. Her passion is contagious. Congratulations to my mom. She was a part of the success being felt by the majority of this country and it couldn't be done with out people like her. I couldn't be me without her either. Words can't express my thanks I hope my actions do.