SUPPORT

If you haven't read MY NEWS then do that first.

If you haven't read MY JOURNEY then do that second.

I'll be here when you get back. Promise.

Are we good? Good. Here goes...Support can be found in the form of bras and jockstraps; they're both good for supporting our junk. But what about supporting you, as in your dreams and goals? See, we humans like to know someone's got our back when the seas get rough and the water starts pouring in.

We humans like when someone tells us we're beautiful or handsome, intelligent or savvy, talented or brilliant, tenacious or determined. Maybe you're lucky enough to have someone tell you you're all of those things. Well maybe not beautiful and handsome. That would be weird.

When the damn voices in our head start to poke and gnaw and eventually scream in our ear we need to listen to the support. I know sometimes I would say in my head, "Uh-huh, right, thanks but it'll still never happen for me." You can insert any dream into the "it" slot. But I'm saying to listen and listen closely because the people in your life who support you were put there for a reason.

I have these people in my life who never let me quit, and believe me I wanted to. Take a gander but I advise no cigarettes around this photo. Too dangerous.


It's circa 1991. We had a very close relationship with the Aqua Net can back then. And we had a very close relationship to the woman on the right. Our mother. That's me on the other end and the other three lovely ladies are my sisters...otherwise known as my biggest fans and best friends.

I've blogged about my sisters -- complete with more photos to make you smile. When you have a minute, check it out. They are each extraordinary in their own way.

Meghan. Nikole. Christina.

One person I haven't blogged about is my mom, Mary Anne Becker-Sheedy. I keep telling her I'm waiting for the right moment to say the right thing. The moment is now. I've been told that I am determined. And tenacious. And focused. And hard working. I learned all of those things from my mother. I have watched her make things happen my whole entire life. I have watched her want something, work her ass off to get it and then get it. She's a decision maker and a doer and a brilliant business woman. The woman knows how to get things done, whatever those things may be.

Usually people like, the go-getters, are jerks. And they don't mind stepping on anyone or anything to get what they want. But the beauty and contradiction of my mother is her flip side...the side where she'd rescue anyone who needed rescuing and I do mean anyone. She showed my sisters and I by example how to be kind, thoughtful, generous, empathetic and helpful. She didn't simply tell us to be like that, she was, and is like that. She's stunning both inside and out. I mean, look at her...


And her greatest gift, in my opinion, is her ability to make me (and my sisters, husband, children, etc...) believe that dreams are possible...all you have to do is make them happen...no matter what. She is the living embodiment of support in her actions and in her words. Nothing is more important than her family and again, she proves that with her actions. Words can sometimes be hollow. She shows her support and always has. What a great thing to learn from her.

No one has gotten more excited to hear news I've shared over my lifetime than my mother. Her reaction is pure and true and full of love and encouragement. It's like chocolate for my ears, and I love chocolate.

Ultimately my point is this, listen to the Mary Anne Becker-Sheedy's in your life. Allow yourself to be encouraged and pushed. If you don't have a Mary Anne Becker-Sheedy in your life, let one in. Put your walls down or open up that closed door. And if your walls are down and your door is open and you still have no Mary Anne Becker-Sheedy then YOU must be what you need. Tell yourself those bits of encouragement, write yourself notes, journal, believe.

You can't get to the top without a foundation underneath you. Go get 'em tigers.

p.s. You can always print out the picture below and borrow my mom...she wouldn't mind. How cute is she here? It's from 1969.


p.s.s. Lest you think I have a clod of a husband, rest assured, he is a rockstar of a husband and my best friend - we really make the most wicked team and have for 23 years (we met when I was 19...but that's a whole other post). Love you, Todd. I just wanted to make this post about my fantastic mom...she deserves the spotlight here.

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