The response-ability to choose...

Mom,
Good morning from Kelowna....where the sun is shining and the view of the lake is gorgeous this morning!! There's no sound of the ocean waves or smell of the salty ocean air but it's stunning here this morning and I'm so glad to be home!

So glad to speak with you lastnight as well! Thank you.

Mom, today I am thinking about how you always made us aware that it was our responsibility to CHOOSE...in any part of our lives. There was no "victim" mentality allowed in your house. Thank you for this life-lesson, Mom. It's probably one of the most valuable life lessons you instilled in all of us. It's certainly one that I'm grateful for.

You taught us to take responsibility, to fore go being a victim of circumstance and take action when we wanted to do something, achieve something or get somewhere...on any given day or in life.

I see myself behaving this way so often and I know I have you to thank. You and your values and strength appear in all of our actions and behaviours (well...the good ones, at least) every day! I know I'm soooo NOT perfect and have so much growing and learning to do...and could improve in many areas of my life and how I respond in many situations...but I think I'm moving in the right direction...and that feels pretty good.

Mom, thank you for teaching me that I have the response-ability to choose...
- how to respond in any situation
- that I can laugh and find the humour present every day
- to look at the bright side of things even when that's the hardest thing to do
- that family and friends are what matter most in life
- that it's my responsibility to choose how I want to live my life...and that I need to stand up for what I need, even when it's not the easiest thing to do
- to listen to my intuition
- to choose who I surround myself with b/c I'll be influenced by their presence in my life in immeasurable ways
- that no one else is to blame and it's no one else is at fault when things don't work out...and that there's always an invitation to choose to do things differently next time when given another opportunity
- that nothing's so serious or worth getting upset over...b/c in years from now, it won't really matter
- and then there's the little things....thx for helping me to see the humour in life in the little things that happen....like when trying to find the mouse lastnight that Scotia brought into the house...


I thought of you, one particular night, on the DIVA Retreat when we were all locked out of the Retreat Center, La Paloma, b/c we all forgot our keys for the main doors an the beach entrace was locked. A few people were waiting in front of our place while Kate went back to the coffee shop down the street to get a set of keys from one of the other Diva's. I didn't want to wait (truth be told...I had to go to the bathroom), so I went down to the beach and climbed up and over the ledge, shimmied around the bars and was then going to go to the main door on the other side of the property to let everyone in. (I thought of you as I was "McGivor-ing" my way up the wall from the beach far below and carefully around the bars.) As I was making my way around the metal bars, on the inside of the ledge, I heard Carol say, "What the heck are you doing?" Inside, I hopped down and said that I just had to find a way in, in case the other girls didn't have keys. We laughed...and both were running to get to the washroom. It was quite funny. I know I get this sense of responsibility and choosing to take action rather than wait or be a victim from you.

Thanks Mom....for everything you are and for what you have made of me.
Love you,
Crystal