Stephen Hawking and Christina

I work in a Starbucks, and every once in a while a famous or pseudo famous person walks in. I suppose they need their caffeine fix from time to time just like everyone else... One of our local celebrities is Stephen Hawking, and he comes into our store simply because we have the largest disbled toilet in the Market area, and it is most convenient for someone with a large motorized wheelchair. Stephen Hawking is an amazing scientist who has made some real significant advancements in our world, but every time I see him I am really saddened because he suffers from the same disease that my mother had. Why does one person get to live for so long (he has been living with the disease for 49 years) while my mom only had a year and a half? Furthermore, would I have wanted her to live any longer, suffering as she did? Why does it upset me so much to see this man that I don't even know?

Christina is a friend of mine from High School. I first met her in seventh grade when all of the town elementary schools poured into one tiny junior high school. We clicked immediately. She is someone that everyone likes because she is perpetually cheerful and enthusiastic about everything. Her family was a bit of a town phenomenon, because she had lots of siblings, and they were all runners. Her mom and dad were hard core runners, who ran every race in town and always won the men's and women's divisions. When Chris got old enough, she won them all too. Her family was close and running together made them just a bit closer. Chris and her mom had a very special mother-daughter relationship because, like me and my mom, they always got along. Kids don't always get along with their parents, and if they do, they are very lucky.
Chris and I were close friends all through high school, but when we went away to college in different states, we fell out of touch.

The year my mom died, I heard from a mutual friend that Chris had tragically lost her mother as well. Chris had a completely different situation to handle, being the oldest of several (I think there were five) younger siblings. Their mother was killed instantly in a head-on collision. They didn't have any time to say goodbye, or tie up loose ends. Their mother was gone in an instant. When I heard about their tragedy, I contacted Chris to ask if there was anything I could do, or offer any condolence. She seemed to be dealing with the whole situation in stride, and she said that she had had to take over the role of matriarch through the loss of her mother. The unusual moments of strength and grace that people have in times of tragedy are truly a gift. The way that she took over her family and led her brothers and sister through such a horrible tragedy is an amazingly powerful inspiration to other people in similar situations. Chris is someone that people can really look up to. I will write more about her in later writings.

Meet My Inspiration

That's her- my incredible mother- second from the right. This is my favorite family photo of all time.

Inspiration

I have met some really inspiring people in my life, but I always seem to find the most inspiration in the ones who have gone through a struggle and come out of it with a strong sensibility and a knack for making other people comfortable in hard times. While I was going through the loss of my mother, I was constantly thinking about the people I know who had lost a parent, and trying to gain something by reflecting on their strength. Throughout this blog I will refer to them and honor their amazing abilities for having grace after devastation.

I met Mike in the summer of 2002, when I was working as an administrator at a summer camp in New Jersey. He was instantly likable, and when we discovered that we had mutual friends, we then discovered that we many more things in common. Mike was very close to his very small family- his brother Hugh and his father. His mom died when he was in elementary school. For that whole summer while we were working together, I had nothing but awe for this person who was creative, happy, and immensely kind and caring to children. How did he get like that when he had had such a sad childhood? At that time, in my world, there was just no possibility of a normal person developing into a wonderful human being without a mother. I found myself constantly asking him about what his childhood was like without his mother, and, in his usual amazing way, he always said prophetic things like "I basked in the memories I had of her and the reflection of her in my brother and my father." People like Mike are amazing to me. I have already asked Mike to contribute his perspective to my book, so one day, when this project is complete, you can read his story in his own words.