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.