Pulling in Inspiration
Editor's Note: I am starting a new category on my blog, called hopes, dreams and inspiration. From time to time, I will write about those in my life who have inspired me, given me hope and helped me fulfill my dreams.
I never really knew her, never really met her, until that fateful time back in 1986 when my grandmother passed away (my father's mother) from a short, but devastating illness. I had received a high school graduation gift from her four short years earlier. I did the proper thing and sent promptly back a thank you. My grandmother mentioned to me that she was impressed that I responded so quickly with a return note. There began my curiosity. Could this woman whom I had never met before, who lived in Greenwich, Ct., really notice that I sent back a note to her so promptly? It wasn't until four years later that I discovered that yes she really did notice.
Jeanie is my grandmother's niece. She was born in Birmingham, but quickly was whisked away to live and grow up in Washington, DC. It was during the Great Depression that my grandmother and grandfather moved to DC with their two children. I believe that the two families even lived under the same roof for a time until my grandparents could find a home. My grandmother and Jeanie were extremely close. I fully understand that closeness, because I too am very close to her. She met the love of her life in DC, a navy man. After the WAR, they moved to New York City. He worked on Wall Street. She was an actress and model. Jeanie had a number of jobs and was very successful in New York. She even went as far as to go to California to see if she could make it in Hollywood, but quickly found out that that life was not for her. She eventually had to give up the business for motherhood, that's the way it was in those days.
I met Jeanie face-to-face at my Grandmother's funeral. Four years later in October, I made my first visit to see her and her husband in Connecticut. That also was my first visit to New York City, which is one of my favorite cities in the world. We didn't do the normal touristy things. We did go to a couple of museums and drove through the countryside. It is so beautiful in the fall.
Perhaps what I remember most about that trip is the inspiration that Jeanie gave me. She's the type of person that when you walk into a room and she's there, you just want to get to know her. She also offered me a sense of sophistication that I had not been exposed to in that way before. After all, at that time, I was still struggling with my career path and trying to find out what the world really expected of me and I of it.
One thing that stuck with me from that time on, was how she encouraged me to explore other options and to get out of Alabama to see what the world had to offer. It wasn't until a decade later that I actually did(get out of Alabama), but I did. Another thing she encourage me to do was to discover my own sense of spirituality. That's something that I am working on to this day.
A lot of who I have become I owe to Jeanie. She has taught me to leave my comfort zone and explore the unknown. She has taught me to think.
Tomorrow she's 83. Incidentally, her husband is 87. They are still going strong. She is strong. She has taught me how to be strong.
I never really knew her, never really met her, until that fateful time back in 1986 when my grandmother passed away (my father's mother) from a short, but devastating illness. I had received a high school graduation gift from her four short years earlier. I did the proper thing and sent promptly back a thank you. My grandmother mentioned to me that she was impressed that I responded so quickly with a return note. There began my curiosity. Could this woman whom I had never met before, who lived in Greenwich, Ct., really notice that I sent back a note to her so promptly? It wasn't until four years later that I discovered that yes she really did notice.
Jeanie is my grandmother's niece. She was born in Birmingham, but quickly was whisked away to live and grow up in Washington, DC. It was during the Great Depression that my grandmother and grandfather moved to DC with their two children. I believe that the two families even lived under the same roof for a time until my grandparents could find a home. My grandmother and Jeanie were extremely close. I fully understand that closeness, because I too am very close to her. She met the love of her life in DC, a navy man. After the WAR, they moved to New York City. He worked on Wall Street. She was an actress and model. Jeanie had a number of jobs and was very successful in New York. She even went as far as to go to California to see if she could make it in Hollywood, but quickly found out that that life was not for her. She eventually had to give up the business for motherhood, that's the way it was in those days.
I met Jeanie face-to-face at my Grandmother's funeral. Four years later in October, I made my first visit to see her and her husband in Connecticut. That also was my first visit to New York City, which is one of my favorite cities in the world. We didn't do the normal touristy things. We did go to a couple of museums and drove through the countryside. It is so beautiful in the fall.
Perhaps what I remember most about that trip is the inspiration that Jeanie gave me. She's the type of person that when you walk into a room and she's there, you just want to get to know her. She also offered me a sense of sophistication that I had not been exposed to in that way before. After all, at that time, I was still struggling with my career path and trying to find out what the world really expected of me and I of it.
One thing that stuck with me from that time on, was how she encouraged me to explore other options and to get out of Alabama to see what the world had to offer. It wasn't until a decade later that I actually did(get out of Alabama), but I did. Another thing she encourage me to do was to discover my own sense of spirituality. That's something that I am working on to this day.
A lot of who I have become I owe to Jeanie. She has taught me to leave my comfort zone and explore the unknown. She has taught me to think.
Tomorrow she's 83. Incidentally, her husband is 87. They are still going strong. She is strong. She has taught me how to be strong.
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