Blessed With A Good Life

Last night, Debbie and I ran into a client of hers at Rite Aid. This beautiful woman shocked us when she mentioned she was 70! She had so many nice things to say, but what actually led us to further discussion as we drove away, is when she said we were blessed with a good life.

Life is what you make it. We all have choices and the power to create our own paths; both deceitfulness and deception, or honest and caring. In our childhood, our grandmother taught us love and strength in a highly dysfunctional environment. We chose honest and caring.

Not too long ago, my husband and I were having dinner at Duke's with our friends. We exchanged stories about our childhood and life in Detroit. Later, my husband asked why I tell people about my past and was I embarrassed about it. It surprised me that he said this since he is probably one of the only people who witnessed a small portion of our environment (we were introduced when I was laying on the floor after a beaten by my stepfather and could not move). At that moment, it was evidence that he was the one embarrassed and wanted to make me feel bad about being so open about my past. I replied that my past is a part of me, as your past is a part of you. It is what it is and who I am, and nothing can change that. Most of our childhood story does include children homes, on our own since 16, tortured, and filthy living conditions. My story as an adult includes having two beautiful grown children, Fitness Motivators, and the strength to persevere regardless of the many obstacles that live presents. If it were not for our grandmother’s only contribution of love in our lives, I wonder where we would be today.

We share our story not for attention or to feel sorry for us, but because our past is an extension of whom we are and can actually help others. It shows two strong and motivated women who came from a background of abuse and homelessness, to not being another statistic but an inspiration to others.

See, sometimes you cannot judge a book by its cover. We are blessed with a good life and good health. Although our childhood and early adulthood was a daily struggle, we made the choice to create our own paths in helping others. It is unfortunate that a few people we encounter try to beat us down with their deceitfulness and deception toward us, but we trust that goodness will always win at the end (and so far it has!).

Believe 100% in yourself. No one else will, if you don’t.