I’ve always had this bit of a fear to be proud. I’ve always thought that if you were too proud, you would get knocked back down to humble real quick, and if you’re anything like me, those humbling moments hurt. But, the key word in that previous sentence is “too” as in too proud. I have to take a moment to tell you how proud I am of my daughter Ashley.
She grew up without a dad. Her dad put himself into a situation where she had to grow up without him. All his choices, not her fault at all. I always wished she had a daddy, but she did for only for the first 2.5 years of her life. My dad was around her a lot, and he treated her like a daddy’s girl, but it wasn’t everyday, all day. I was a single mom to her for about 12 years, then she got a loving stepfather, my husband, Bill. It was a bit too late for her though, she had already built up that wall. Bill and her do get along now and she does have him as a father now, and they hug now too! (It was always a struggle to get her to hug him).
Anyhow, I have just returned from North Carolina. It was half business, half relax. I had to go to get tenants removed from my parents house, court, and tons of things to do to get it listed for sale. We were victorious in our court case but I had felt like a failure because I allowed the defendant to lie, lie, lie. I have a problem keeping my mouth shut, but in court I didn’t. My mouth was sealed shut.
I wanted to be respectful since I did everything legally and didn’t want to waste my mom’s money. It hurt. He lied, thank God my attorney objected and the judge ignored his lies. He still got out of the house, I still have to deal with him a bit longer but the end is in sight!
After court that day, I was in a terrible slump. Yes, at the beach, on vacation, nothing I could do to pick myself up. Until Ashley. She convinced me to take a short ferry ride to Bald Head Island, off the coast of North Carolina. She pulled me up, convinced me to move on. Her attitude cheered me on, convinced me the end was near (of the tenant) and had encouraged me there was more for us to do. I am so proud of her. Somehow I think I raised her to be that way, and I am glad I did. I am so grateful it all stuck and she practices it. Not to mention, she helped me pack, load, unload, wash, clean, carry, drive, clean up, cook, helped me with techie stuff… the list goes on. I am so incredibly thankful for her help. The minute I dropped her off after our trip, I missed her. I love her so much. I am so thankful for my mini me, that was me, just many years ago. I hope I am that much help to my mom. I love her beyond belief and I thank God for her everyday. Thank you Ashley, there are no words to describe how much love I have for you.