Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

“I got it from my Mama”, is a saying you’ll hear a lot here in the south.  It basically sums up my life in a nutshell.  I am definitely my mother’s daughter, there’s no other way about it.   Apart from the obvious like our eyes or our smile, we think alike and we share an indestructible, unbreakable bond.  My mom is more than my mother, she is also my friend. With this new chapter of life lessons, I want to really digg in on the diverse and different relationships in my life. I’ve opened up about the influence of my parents and my marriage on my life recently but today I’m going to share a little more about my Mama, who she is and who she has shaped me to be. Life Lesson #54 is the story of a Bold, Relentless Love . I grew up in an extraordinary loving home. I was an only child. Let me make this clear though, I was never lonely, nor was I spoiled.  I had all I ever needed and mostly what I wanted, but I was never a stranger to the word “NO”. ...

What is it that makes us fear aging? Getting older, as if there’s this trepidation and horror in a number?  I have never been afraid of age. I guess I’ve never really thought long and hard about “getting older”. I’ve never felt old, maybe that has something to do with it. I’m just not one to worry about whether I’m 23 or 43. Age to me is simply a number, not a way of life. I was born into a very lively family, full of vitality, exuberance, enthusiasm, pep and gusto. My parents raised to me love life, to take it all in and never worry about if I was too young or too old.  I was an only child, and maybe that played a part in how I was raised.  We laughed a lot, and still do. We traveled , saw the world, the US ,made long lasting friendships, experienced cultures and music, tasted new foods ( sometimes to my alarm) and soaked in life relentlessly and fearlessly. My Granny used to call us street rats, an old southern endearment for saying we were always on the go....

Growing up is scary. And by growing up I don’t mean getting older or putting mileage on. No, I mean growing into men and women who were born victorious.  None of us are born to live a life of defeat. Yes some are given more, while others have to fight to get to the top but we're not meant to live derailed, crushed or rejected. What I do know from my own difficulties, is I want to be the kind of woman who doesn’t settle but walks with purpose, allowing the fire inside me not to scorch my surroundings but to burn brighter inside of me. Growing up isn’t about who you are,where you're from or where you're going in life because we’re all still growing, learning every day whether we’re 10 years old or 80. The truth is up until we take our last breath our hearts and minds continue to illuminate and compose our story. Our tales are never fully told or revealed until the last word is penned on the very last page of the final chapter and the book is closed. Honestly, until...

You may know my name, but do you know my story? Do you know who I truly am? The woman I have fought hard to become? One chapter simply does not chronicle or detail, illustrate or depict my whole tale. A paragraph is but one raindrop falling from the sky. Words from a single sentence alone are but one moment, one small glimpse into my life, into my story. Without the complete account no one has the ability to discern the outcome.  Let me take a moment and reintroduce myself to you. My name is Christina, Christina Marie to be formal. My family calls me Christie.  I’m a 40 something year old wife, mother and educator.  I’ve been married to the love of my life for over 20 years and together have raised two practically grown sons. I’m also a writer; I express myself through written narrative.  I can be difficult, headstrong and yes very strong –willed. I’m a bit of a wild one, an only child at that and a certified complete sassy mess. I have a soft heart, a ...