THE BIGGEST LESSON MY MOM TAUGHT ME.

My mom was my greatest champion, an endless supporter, my biggest fan, and my best friend. I think back to the challenges she must have faced raising us for many years as a single mother. At times, we didn’t have any spare cash to get the ‘luxuries’ the other children had, but we always had a firm foundation.
My mom taught us with encouragement, never entertaining the word ‘impossible,’ but rather telling us anything we dreamed was within our reach. Through example, she taught me how to be a strong woman by reinventing herself as many times as necessary to support our family. She innovated when innovation wasn’t a trend.
She instilled in me a priceless moral compass that I come back to every day to guide my decisions, and she brought me up with faith and Godly words that I know is much bigger than any obstacle put in front of me. All of these lessons are valuable beyond compare, but there’s one in particular I will never forget.
It was a sad day31st December 2012 and my family was gathered weeping, waiting for my mom to arrive so her orientation for us could begin. She never made it. My mom was in a deep sleep. The loss of my mother was the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. My mom was a firm believer in ‘everything happens for a reason’ and while I struggled to understand what the reason could possibly be for this tragedy, I attempted to make some sense of it and find the reason or lesson in the midst of my grief.
Through her passing, the biggest lesson my mom unintentionally taught me was that life is short and to not put off until tomorrow what your heart is telling you to do today. Don’t wait for the perfect day to pursue your dream; don’t wait for retirement to travel; don’t miss out on  priceless family moments; don’t miss an opportunity to tell someone how much they mean to you; don’t miss a chance to build someone up – you may be their only champion that day or in that moment. We often live today like it’s just another day and tomorrow we can try again, but there is no guarantee that we have tomorrow.
Many years ago I created a bucket list – a list of things I wanted to do in my lifetime – and I continue to update this list every year. A bucket list typically includes things that seem out of reach, and so they are moved to a ‘someday’ category. Through the last lesson my mom ever taught me, my someday has become today. I have taken all the things in my bucket list and one by one, have been making them a reality. this day, brethren take a look at your bucket list, the amazing things you have been able to bring to life over the last year, and make a plan on how to bring forward those someday items. #NoRegrets R.I.P mom syndel loves you.