I am participating in a blog challenge hosted by
Love Kate. Each week, I will be writing a post on a word about myself that begins with the coordinating letter of the alphabet on the Blog Challenge. This week's word "About Me":
ASPIRATIONAL
This word is an adjective form of "aspire", meaning "being ambitious or desiring success". As I was thinking through what I wanted to begin this challenge with, I tossed around a few ideas first: Autism- Mom, Ambitious, Arbitrary to name a few. I wanted a word that described the fact that I love lots of things, there is much variety in my life, and I have lots of "pie-in-the-sky" ideas about all of them. "Aspirational" seemed to fit me perfectly.
I aspire to be lots of things: a great wife, a great mom, a successful blogger, an effective encourager, a great homemaker (not just housekeeper - a HOMEmaker), a unique crafter, the best advocate for my son with autism, a good friend to many and a best friend to a few, a loving daughter, a cool sister, and so many more things. I have so many aspirations. I am ambitious at times in each of these categories (somewhat lackadaisical at other times), and I certainly desire success in them all.
What I aspire most to do though, is to make a difference. To be someone who really impacts the world and does something to change it, if even in some small way. Of course, my ego and driving pride desire for that impact to be huge and noticeable - to really be
seen by lots of people. Important people. I have another blog where I write about our journey raising a son with autism called
Post Tenebras Lux: Hope in Autism. It's a virtual presence here on the World Wide Web - it's out there, ready to be seen by the great expanse we reverently call, "The Blogosphere". (Okay, only some of us call it that. Okay, none of us call it that - at least not "reverently".) Though it is still a presence, it's only a tiny existence in comparison to the rest of the bloggy world. And that's okay, because I think that the life that it holds there has already fulfilled in part the aspirations that I held for it at its creation to build up, to encourage, and to share our story with special needs families in need of hope.
I aspire to be that person who gets featured in news stories about the great things I'm doing for my community, for the autism cause at large, for being able to give extravagantly - like the guy who raised a ton of money for the woman who was bullied on the bus, or like Nicholas Cage who shared his winning lottery ticket with a nobody waitress.
I aspire to be the mom who has an awesome art project for her kids every day - and likes doing it with them. I want to be the friend who says yes to everything to be a help. I aspire to be the wife and mom who makes our house a home, a safe haven from the big bad world outside our front door. I aspire to be a daughter who never disappoints my parents, but who makes them proud in everything I do. (I might be a grown woman, but there's still that little girl inside who needs her mommy sometimes and still needs dad's strong hugs to make it all better.)
I aspire to do something to keep my house clean EVERY DAY. Truly, I have aspirations to have a laundry room floor clear of random socks and towels and superhero costumes with spilled apple juice or chocolate milk on them. Usually, it's the kind of aspirations that require an inhaler, but they are aspirations just the same, right? :-)
I aspire to MAKE and DO everything I pin onto my Pinterest boards. I love to create, and have spent the last several years creating in several different ways. I used to have a cookie business, then I had a handmade bag business, and now I just kind of make whatever I want and hope that it becomes something I could sell that does actually sell. More recently, I've become a couponer - not THAT kind. But I have saved incredible amounts of money without clearing shelves and building my own store in my basement to provide for my family. For a while, that aspiration was fulfilled. But it's been a while since I've done it, so it's back on the "aspiring" list again.
The more aspirations I have, the more ideas I get to make something of myself or my ideas, the more it seems that maybe the "big dreams" are going to be just that - big dreams. Things that really don't become what I want, or hope they will become. It doesn't really stop me from continuing to dream big, or aspire to something more. I think that's just part of who I am. It's those big dreams that motivate me to take small steps towards fulfilling those dreams. But I also aspire to be content in my little corner of the world, in my little home with my little kids in our little town. Maybe my impact won't be on Facebook's 1 million+ "Likes" with millions more "talking about this". Maybe my community won't be hugely changed because of some incredible difference I've made, and maybe news stations won't hear about me through the grapevine. But I can still make a difference.
I can make a difference to three young boys who will one day be men who just might do something grand to really change the world. I can still encourage my girlfriend who needs a shoulder to cry on, or needs flowers to brighten her day. I can still be a loving daughter who honors my parents, even if we don't always agree on things. I can still make my house a home, even if it's not the same as a pristine model home that isn't truly lived in. I can still express my ideas in my creations whether or not they earn money. I can still keep my laundry floor cleared - oh, who am I kidding?! :-) (Did I mention I also have secret aspirations of being a motivational speaker/comedienne?)
I am "Aspirational". Good thing I don't have asthma. :-) (Please, I mean no offense to those who do!) This week's aspiration: coming up with a descriptive word for myself that starts with the letter "B" for next week's blog challenge post! I hope you'll come back for more and follow me to keep up with all the rest of my "fanciful sojourns" along the way. Thanks for reading!
Sarah @ Fanciful Sojourns
Benjamin is my firstborn, and he is just like me. If you have a child is just like yourself, you know how hard it is to parent yourself! :-) Our personalities are so alike, we end up clashing and butting heads because we're both strong-willed people. I love him though - this blond-haired, blue eyed kid who mirros his father as a child in looks, and is growing bigger every day. He's recently come into his personality a bit more with his humor. The things he says sometimes are surprising, and so funny! He's such a literal thinker too, so everything we have to explain must be in concrete concepts. He loves music - drumming with his hands and singing, riding his bike, playing with our dog, and he still loves cuddling with me.
