My sista

On Saturday I watched my sister complete a 2km swim in the ocean as part of a team competing in a half ironman and I couldn't have been more prouder of her. I was so proud, my mother's genes overcame me and I shed some tears everytime I saw her get out of the water to round a peg to go back in to swim another circuit three times! I spent most of that day, afternoon and some time after thinking about her and her achievment and the reasons why those tears of pride and joy fell...

My sister is three years younger than me. She is the middle child of our family. She is pretty clued on when it comes to finances and business, and is technologically savvy (this is in comparison to me so not sure if that counts...)We have been described by people that know us to be totally different yet when people see us know that we are sisters. In fact, people are often getting us confused which is more of a insult to her than me - I mean, who wouldn't want to be seen as someone three years younger than they really are ;-) Our relationship has grown over the years but it as adults that we are getting to know each other and becoming friends. These are the things that she teaches me....

PEACEMAKER

When we were little, I remember my mother doing an activity that would get us to think of something positive about each other and we would share that. What I do recall from that activity the most is Zina being described as the peacemaker. This is actually funny considering the combats her and my brother used to engage in, but in general she has a soft heart and is caring, considerate and compassionate. She is often the inbetween of people and looks for the good to EVERY story and person. She is softer that I am in a lot of ways, and forgives easier which makes it quicker for her to find peace around her and within herself.

TENACITY

In the oxford dictionary this word means to hold or stick to something and this is something my sister teaches me all the time by her example. Her recent race is a good case in point. She started training for it quite late in the piece and was sick and injured during the build up but she was determined and focussed and there was no way she was going to drop out. Amazing....

COURAGEOUS

I think my sister is one of the most courageous people that I know, because she is living a life as a single mother of two growing children in a community that is away from her own support systems. She lives this life without fear and basically on her own, and she teaches me about having courage. If I think about the race she has just completed, I would not even have half of her courage to go into open water and swim - I am paralysed by just thinking about it - and yet, off she went, into the unknown and did it!! 

BUDGET

My sister is an accountant. If you know any accountants, I believe they are all the same - continually doing risk, benefit and cost analysis... Everything is about money either the productive and effective use of, or the waste, the re-cycling value of, or the loss and debt of something. I think that is a skill that I could use more... I love this about my sister because it puts 'real' back into money and she needs to remind me more about this lesson..... but I digress. The coolest thing about being an accountant is her ability to budget. Because of this talent, she has just taken her children on a two week overseas holiday. She has planned for it and budgeted it for it and done it all on her own and I am so proud of her.

FINISHER

If my sister starts something - she will finish it. She has been, and always will be like that. The journey may not be pretty and the end product may not be the most stunning but my goodness, heaven and earth will be moved so that she finishes. Watching her race on Saturday, although I know she struggled in places with people swimming over her and directly infront of her.... there was one thing for certain - she was going to finish....

Thank you sista for the wonderful lessons you teach me everyday and congratulations for completing your 2km skim. You were truly inspirational!

Mxo

Lessons from Inspirational Women...

I have been waiting to tell you this story about some inspirational people that I am surrounded with. I am going to tell you this without them knowing (permission) because I don't want them to try and persuade me not to do this...... and knowing them as I do, I don't believe they realise the impact of what they have achieved has had on me, and I am sure the people around them..... 

I haven't used their real names but hoping they can add one and one together because I owe them so much....

I dedicate this blog to these inspirational women and thank them for the lessons their examples continue to teach me.

Claudia

I heard my friend Claudia speak somewhere and she told the people gathered (in my words and unfortunately from my memory :-)) that she was trying something new this year and had decided to only have one new years resolution and that was to be happy. To myself I thought wow, how cool is that, and I secretly wished I had picked one instead of my traditional ten plus goals..... A few weeks ago (and some nine months since I heard her speak about her one goal) we were talking and I asked her about being happy and she said she was the happiest that she had ever been. Although, no longer working full-time, and working at odd jobs (that she chose and at her pace), and having less money that when she was working full-time - her happiness factor had increased. She is a great example to me that less is more and happiness is achievable...To be happy - what a fantastic goal!

Ryder I

My friend Ryder is a single mother with four children who are well adjusted citizens of their community, church and the world and a privilege to know and love. But this is about Ryder and not the children. Ryder set a goal to be a policewoman last year and as part of that she is currently enrolled in a course which is two nights a week. Her babysitter arrives at her home on those nights to find that Ryder has prepared the children's dinner (and enough for me and my family whenever I have had to babysit), lunches for the next day are prepped, and children go to bed according to their established routine. This is an example to me that goals are not achieved without preparation and the little things. She can go to her class knowing that her children are taken care and therefore allowing her to concentrate on the tasks at hand.

Ryder II

The physical component of the course was always going to be a challenge yet Ryder again has been an inspiration here as well. On top of going to class which has a physical component to it, Ryder also trains six days a week outside of class. As a result Ryder is breaking her own personal best times and frequencies in different exercises regularly. From Ryder I have learnt more about goal setting than I have from any management book. She is a living example of long term vision and the painful yet rewarding steps to get there. Ryder teaches me every day, by her example, that motivation and grit and determination are real words and they are some of the hardest things to achieve...

Jack

My next inspirational person doesn't know what her example has meant to me. She is a married woman with two children. She is one of the kindest and hard working people that I know. Jack has always worked and comes from a hard working family. She had been working in a family owned internet business for some time and in the last few years it was sold and she was left with no job. When she was faced with that she got another job in an industry that couldn't have been further from what she was doing and actually had to re-train to do it. Re-train as in studying and sitting tests and all the things that people have nightmares about school again and she did it. It was hard at first but now she is qualified as a theatre (as in hospital and not acting) technician and is employable globally and I couldn't be more prouder of that. From Jack's example I have learnt that re-training is scary and hard and there is truth to the saying that when one door closes another opens....

French

I have a friend French who I have worked with on and off for many years in different roles and in the last organisation I worked for. She is an educated and intelligent woman, wife and mother of two children. Her role was quite high up in terms of the organisation structure, with her being in charge of a multi-million dollar budget, strategic planning and direction of a unit, and oversaw numerous staff. That alone is a wonderful achievement - however for me her next decision was the most inspirational. French resigned from that highly ranked position in our organisation to move on to something just as fantastic - to be a full-time mother. Her example has taught me about priorities and how life as a Mum can be fullfilling and that to be a Mum can restore the equillibrium to the twenty-four-seven struggle of balancing balance work and home.

There are many more that I could have featured here.... because you are all inspirational and thank you every day!

Yours in friendship,

Mxo