Perseverance; the will to do anything you set your mind to in life. This is what Kelsey teaches me every single day along with patience and gratitude.
When Kelsey wanted to read, she tapped every sound out on her hands just as her incredible teacher Mrs. L. taught her to do in school. Kindergarten closes for Kelsey today. What a year it has been for her. Hospitalizations, scares, and daily injections aside, Kelsey now reads with conviction and expression. She has far exceeded the goal she set earlier in the year. She is delighted to share her connections with print and the strides she has made this year. If other kids are doing it, so can I.
When she swam in the pool with her cousins and they could swim without a life-jacket or a puddle-jumper, that strong and determined will set in yet again. Off went the life jacket and with close supervision, off it stayed.
The power of the mind, the will we all have, and the pulse it has over us all. It can make or break your day if you let it.
I recently heard a speaker who brought me to tears with his story. He was illiterate at the age of 15. At 32, though dyslexic, he spoke in front of 200 guests about the power of a positive attitude. While he spoke and encouraged, I thought of Kelsey. Decades apart in age, they share the same drive to do whatever they will to do in life.
They could teach us all a thing or two. We should all listen a bit more to the universe when the positive vibes around us are high. They can easily change with the weather and we can all become focused on what we do not have, what is wrong, or what another person or professional has that we desire. When we reflect on ourselves and all of the good we possess, the power of positive will set in and change our view.
I have stopped to do so several times recently and the view looks a great deal brighter as a result. The negative can allure us, drawing us in if we allow it. The positive can also enchant us and motivate us to believe in ourselves each and every day, too. As Robert Frost reminds me, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Let’s travel that road more often together.