Bloom When, Where and Because You have been Planted

The tears were a-flowing when I thought about my beautiful Mom stuck in situations for which there did not appear to be reprieve from. A victim of the times and circumstances she was born into. She did not do the things she would have loved to have done, she was not able to really bloom. What else might she have accomplished if she had been nurtured, encouraged, or maybe even brave enough to push past the limits put on her.

I thought about how often my Mom would say to me, “I can’t believe I ‘borned’ you!” She would always make me feel so great about the things I had done, accomplished, tried. She is always eager to praise me for qualities that perhaps she didn’t feel she had.

Suddenly it dawns on me that maybe I am my Mother’s ‘bloom.’ Perhaps I am living the life she might have lived given different situation. Perhaps I am her, but her – bloomed! Perhaps that is way she gets so much joy living vicariously through me?

The thought of this excites me and I want to talk to her about it, but I don’t want to make her upset and I don’t know if it sounds crazy anyway. I stay quiet and continue to contemplate my hunch.

Weeks later we are having lunch together. I am telling her about Randy and I planning how to celebrate our upcoming 25^th wedding anniversary. We are thinking of going to New Zealand or Australia for an extended holiday.

“That’s one thing I would have liked to have done she says, I would have loved to gone there.”

Interesting.

I decide now is as good a time as any to talk to her about my recent possible discovery. At first she laughs and then she gets introspective and a bit emotional and finally she says, “Yes, you are me, ‘bloomed!’”

Now, I am eager to find out what else she would like to have done. At 86 now she is rather limited, but I am not. I tell her to think about what we could do either together or virtually together. This could be fun!

That night Sarah Eaton, PhD. is my guest on the Your Life, Unlimited radio show. Dr. Sarah is a multi-language educator and the author of “Want to Change the World? Learn Another Language: Leadership Inspired by Language Learning.”

(You can get her book as a free, downloadable e-book available here: http://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/free-ebook/)

Sarah’s passion for life-long learning and exploring languages bubbles through the air waves. Her slightly odd excitement for verbs and grammar of every description is a bit difficult to understand for me, a mere unilingual speaker, but it’s very lovable nonetheless! She extols the benefits of learning another language and tell us we can become:

More divergent, more critical thinkers
More creative problem solvers
More understanding of other individuals
More tolerant of other cultures, faiths and ways of being and
living
More compassionate
More and more curious about the world around us
Better citizens

And less:

Less myopic and narrow-minded.
Less tolerant of intolerance.
Less convinced that there is only one “right” way to see the world

She has me convinced and suddenly the events of the day and the evening collide. I remember my Mom has loved Spanish as long as I can remember. “It’s such a romantic language.” she would croon.

“Mom,” I say into my microphone live on the air, “if you are still awake, (she always listens to my show, but sometimes, I bore her to sleep!) we are taking Spanish lesson – you and me!”

The minute our hour long show is over, my cell phone rings and it’s her. I’m awake and I’m in! When do we start?”

I have heard sooooo many people say that they would love to learn a second language and I have never heard anyone say the wish they didn’t know another language.

The fluency is not our goal.

Our goal is to learn and share and grow and laugh and try. And bloom together right where we are planted, now.

Are you ready to bloom?

The post Bloom When, Where and Because You have been Planted first appeared on Your Life Unlimited.

Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited

by Stephanie Staples

Bloom When, Where and Because You have been Planted

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