What are you most proud of?

Tags

accomplishments, daughter, Diana Schwenk, dignity, family, Hump Day Chronicles, integrity, mission, passion, proud, Purpose, Single parent, vision

Michaela, 8 months old, playing piano at Oma and Opa’s house

That’s what she asked me when she called on Monday.

What are you most proud of…what is your greatest accomplishment?

Rebecca was calling me in response to a short-term job I had applied for. Something that I might enjoy doing and would allow me to make some extra cash.

The phone interview was the first screening.

What AM I most proud of, I wondered.

So used to being at the other end of an interview – being the one asking the questions.

So used to selling a cause and not necessarily selling myself.

My mind went straight to my professional accomplishments:

• my work on the GNA committee
• the 90-day plan I developed to win people over so that they no longer feared affordable housing for the homeless in the downtown core
• helping that other small non-profit get a better understanding of their fund development history and working with them to develop strategies to move forward.

And other such things…

No. That’s not what Rebecca was looking for, so she rephrased the question. What are you passionate about?

“Well I guess I’m most passionate about being true to myself,” I began. “Of standing up for what I believe, even when I have to stand alone.

I’m proud of raising my daughter as a single parent. And intentionally not speaking ill of her dad while she was growing up – I’d seen too many times what kind of damage that does to children.

I’m proud that when I left a job I had loved for many years, that had turned ugly during a leadership change, I did it with my integrity and dignity intact.

I’m passionate about following my heart, even when I am afraid. And I am determined to ensure that my word is better than a signed contract.

~

So used to selling a cause and not necessarily selling myself…

Nevertheless, a valuable experience for me and a second interview is scheduled!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What are you most proud of? What is your greatest accomplishment? What are you passionate about?

Resistance is Futile

Tags

adapt, children, daughters, Diana Schwenk, family, growing up, kids, loss, love, Relationships, Single parent, things we cannot change

Look at this tree. It’s the only one still hanging on to its leaves. It’s resisting the inevitable…

In a recent post entitled Fear, I wrote about gathering up your courage to overcome your fears in order to face and change outcomes.

In this post, I would like to explore the things we cannot change.

This tree is hanging on to the warmth of autumn

I’m not a fan of winter.

Yes I know, some of you love it.

One only has to look at my

Twitter name @wantsummerback to know that I love summer.

But all the fist-clenching,

face-scrunching,

eyes tightly closed praying

wishing and hoping

will not stop the onset of winter.

Winter will come anyway.

~

Winter is a metaphor to me for the things I cannot change.

Life throws us some doozies, doesn’t it?

Job loss

Illness

Relationship loss

Financial struggles

The passing of loved ones.

And just like winter, they come and there’s not a damned thing we can do about it.

Nope – there are some things you just can’t change.

Not all is lost though, not as long as you can do the one thing that humans have been doing since the dawn of man.

The one thing that has, in my opinion, ensured the survival of mankind.

You can adapt.

~

Back before my daughter was born…

before I was pregnant, before I met a man and fell in love, I had decided that I would never have children.

I just didn’t think I had that nurturing gene that all the other women I’d met seemed to have.

Well you know how the story goes…

Girl decides not to have children.

Girl meets man and falls in love…one thing leads to another and girl becomes pregnant.

So I adapted. I became OK with that. I began to plot out how our little family life would play out.

I got excited and really started looking forward to having a baby.

No matter what came, the man I loved and I would figure out how to handle any situation.

When I was six months pregnant, my relationship with the father of my baby ended.

There was nothing I could do. It happened and that was that. The end.

So I adapted.

Don’t misread me – I was devastated, but once I accepted the situation, I began to plot out how our little family life would play out.

When they put my little angel girl in my arms on that snowy November day, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her.

It was my responsibility to take care of her.

I had no choice but to figure it all out.

Me and Michaela in the liquor store – it’s not as bad as it looks!

Sure it wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t an ideal situation.

It’s tough to be a working single parent.

And it’s tough to be the child of a single parent too.

But you guessed it – my little girl adapted and grew up (maybe a little faster than other kids) into a beautiful, intelligent young woman.

She is a gift to me – the best thing I’ve ever done – and I’m so proud to be her mom.

~

The human spirit is amazing – it endures and overcomes.

I’ve seen it with people experiencing homelessness.

I’ve watched in awe as families and organizations regroup and pull together in crises and do what they never imagined they could do.

I’ve read about it – here – in your blogs and have been amazed with your strength in tougher situations than I have ever had to face.

It’s never easy. It takes its toll.

There is no manual with step-by-step instructions to follow.

But the human spirit is amazing – it adapts and endures.

~

Not a great video clip – I probably don’t have a film career in my future

but it does afford you the opportunity to hear my voice!

Look at this tree.

It’s the only one still hanging on to its leaves.

It’s resisting the inevitable

it’s hanging on to the warmth of autumn.

But as you can see…

winter has invaded our city – albeit before the season is official.

Doesn’t that tree know that a time of renewal will come?

 Makes me wonder about the things I’m resisting.

How about you?