The day is still fresh though the dew has dried. The cool air brushes by softly, but I’m comfortable in sweats. A few birds still sing. A neighbor starts his lawn mower somewhere in the distance…
And I have my day planned. What am I doing with it?
Out of the blocks…
Jamie VanCauwenbergh
By evening, when the sun says good-night, when the birds settle down and the crickets take up the song…
What will I have done with my day?
Terry Starbucker and Chris Garrett are both having one of those heady blog conversations:
What comes naturally to us, like breathing? And are we doing those things — in our careers and in our lives beyond careers?
What am I natural at doing…
What do I love doing…
What am I good at…
What do I not love doing…
What am I not good at…
I grew up with parents who loved, ate, breathed their professions. My dad lived by the motto “You gotta’ love it!”
So I knew I would love whatever I did.
Because that’s how life was.
And I knew what I would be. A mommy.
Since college was part of the deal in our family, and since I’d been told that teaching would allow me to be on my kids’ schedule once I became a mommy, I went.
And I became a teacher…
…which I did not love. Oops…
But I did love being a mommy.
Fifteen years and three growing girls later, my husband and I started a family business, which he built and I ran. My teaching turned to training others for business…
…and in that process I realized I had a heart and passion for people — encouraging them to hunt down and define and pursue their dreams. To stand tall in who they were becoming. To believe in their abilities, their unique gifts.
From how they dressed to how they ate and exercised to what they read to how they prepared their hearts and minds for all the life they had in front of them, I wanted them to catch my upbeat outlook. I wanted them to be excited about their own possibilities.
I still feel that passion… I have enough years behind me that I know some things are not worth worrying about, that many so-called failures are simply low grades on a test — meaning you just haven’t learned the material yet. I know that while it’s good to be liked, other people don’t define you.
I love my life and anticipate every day of it — one day and adventure at a time. I need to share that — with my kids first, and then with others who want to live life fully.
That’s what I want to have done at day’s end… shared something good with and about the people I come across on any particular day.
I’m an encourager…
Who are you?
What will you have done by day’s end that you love doing?
Do you make it part of your career? And beyond that, part of your life?
Thanks for coming by… please have some coffee, and share something about yourself if you’d like to… 
Barb
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I am so glad to know you, even like this – half way across the globe, not over coffee but some wires and waves.
Barb, An exceptional post – thoughtful, well written, sharing of yourself and inspirational. Karol
Good reading. The kind of post that makes you stop and think a little more consciously about time… and how we spend it.
Thanks for sharing that!
Teresa’s last blog post..Blue Girl WIP #5
Hi Swati. Thank you… me too.
Thanks Karol Grace. I too am inspired by learning how people live out their days, one by one.
Hi Tresesa. You’re an artist, and you know how, if you don’t think it through ahead of time, you lose all sense of time! I hope people will take their coffee and head over to see your latest portrait in progress.
Such a lovely post and if I made my day planner more of a blessing than a burden it would be a record of many perfectly lovely days.
I encourage too, because I can not do “it” for people – I see a lot of folks who do “it” for people and then they can add up their own learning – mistakes are just different life lessons.
I never wanted to be a wife or mother, but have done just that for the past 32 years – who knew I would be good at this kind of work?
Patricia’s last blog post..Blogger Dad – Blame Tara Meme
Thanks for the encouragement, I need it! Your attitude is great and is one I would like to emulate. My concerns about the present and the future hurt my brain. I will look forward to your future posts for inspiration and hope.
Brad
Brad’s last blog post..Am I Breathing, Suffocating, or just Thinking?
Thank you Brad. It’s good to have you come over. I shall return your visit shortly…
whoa! who’s that cute girl running?
… Just so you know… I love that you’re my mommy.
Hey there, Kelly — my favorite middle daughter! I do need to credit you with the copyright to that photo!
Jamie VanCauwenbergh, your daughter/athlete/student/all around good girl — that’s who that cute girl running is.
I love you both. Thanks for coming in! I KNOW how you love your coffee… and how Jamie likes hers.
Hi Patricia! I love how you said that — making the day planner a blessing so it becomes a record of lovely days. That’s beautiful.
Indeed, who knew we could do all we do — it really does take a lifetime, doesn’t it?
Hi Barb,
I AM having some coffee right now…mmmm…good!
I love this post! Doing what we love – it doesn’t get much better than that. Am I there? It’s a journey for me, and one I’m glad to be on. I have been doing a lot of questioning recently, and this is all helping me to better define what it is that I truly love. I think that sometimes we get so busy doing what we’ve always done, that we don’t take the time to be still and really listen to our soul. And when we do – and act upon that – what a great place to reach! I’m getting closer every day…
Lance’s last blog post..This Is Funtertainment
Hi Lance. I think too that it’s a journey — for all of us. Life isn’t fully lived until we have reached the end of it, and therefore we find some of the important things as we go. Who knew Patricia (above) would be a great mom when it was never her plan to be one? Yet she seems to have loved it.
All along the way we experiment, discover, say Ah-Ha! and move on.
Yes, you’re getting closer every day because you’re living every day of your life!
Thanks so much for coming by…
I knew a man who could not believe I really loved life and constantly marvelled at the world we live in. I think that now I would have the confidence to make him a happier person. I am neither a mother nor a teacher, but like you, Barb, I do have a strong desire to help others see life as the adventure that it can be.
Valerie Beeby’s last blog post..iPhone Painting in the Dark