Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Inspiration

Carpe Diem!
Hello Dear Readers,
 
I had a conversation with my sister-in-law the other day about internet blogs, especially mommy blogs and celebrity blogs.   She was telling me how unrealistic and picture perfect those blogs are and how she could not connect with them. 
 
Let me say first that blogging is an anomaly in my family.  Nobody blogs or reads internet blogs and they laugh at my hobby which I don't keep secret but which I don't really talk about with them either. 
 
But to me, reading blogs and then embarking in the world of blogging has changed me tremendously.  It helped me better myself, reminded me of being kind and patient with my kids, of being grateful for the things I have and above all, inspired me to beautify my life with the means I have.
 
I totally understand that the reality of other bloggers is not my reality as we all have a different life.  But I am INSPIRED by them.  I think we all feel drawn to perfection and beauty so it's natural to aim for these things!  Reading blogs makes me dream and wishful and it also makes me create and ultimately bring benefits to myself and my family.
 
My life is not perfect and has never been.  Far from it.
 
I grew up in a very poor family.  What you could call dirt poor.  We got even poorer when tragedy struck and we were left with nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, but the clothes we were wearing.  We spend months living in slums, with barely enough food to survive, with the fear of sickness and being killed.  But we made it out of there.  My parents worked so hard to get us back to a normal living. 
 
My home was ugly.   There were no such things you could call "pretty" because all we had came directly from the garbage cans or from donations. Our dinner ware was chipped and mismatched.   My clothes were either hand-made or donated and they were always frumpy or too big.  But we had plenty of love.  And my mom made everything as pretty as she could with the means she had.  And thanks to her, we forgot the holes in the walls and the leaking faucet, the old clothes and chipped plates.  We lived in a Home Sweet Home, as pretty and cozy as you could get.
 
 
She would always be an inspiration to me.  She created lampshades with papier mâché and tea cozy with bits of left over fabrics.  She invented recipes to work with the ingredients she could find and cooked delicious meals only mothers could cook!  She was always crafting or improvising with the little she had to transform our tiny flat into a comfortable haven.
 
 
Nowadays, I live in much better conditions, but my apartment is far from being pretty.  My neighborhood is not an upscale one and the buildings are all decrepit and old.  But some of my neighbors, they tend to their garden, they sweep daily the dead leaves and they decorate for each holiday!  They make and effort to beautify their living space and that makes a huge difference!  The neighborhood is transformed thanks to their willingness to change their environment.
 
 
In the same way, I try to make my home a better place to live and reading blogs inspire me to do so.  Little by little, gradually and within my means, I make it happen.  So I think blogging is really useful!  It depends on how you use the knowledge you are getting.  I say: make it a positive experience :)  Reach for higher!  Even in the most arid deserts, beautiful flowers can bloom :)
 
Cactus Flowers
 
P.S. All the pictures above are shots I took (with ONE hand while the other hand was holding baby) during my morning walk in my neighborhood each weekend (well except for the peonies which was taken in my home).  Baby's hand is actually shown in the first picture :) 

11 comments:

  1. Very inspiring post, Jane. I love your blog because it is heartfelt and real. I love your perky enthusiasm too. And of course, I love all of the cute toys you show! Big hugs! xo Jennifer

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    1. Thank you Jennifer for your comment! It means a lot to me because I am a real person and I see my blog as a virtual extension of thoughts. I aim to make things better for myself and for others too :)

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  2. I understand what you mean. I'm so glad we found each other. I love my blog friends. xoxo

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  3. You are one of my great blogger inspiration, and if I need something pretty in my live I usually go to your blog, Keep it up!

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    1. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaw thank you darling! Means a lot to me :D

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  4. oh sweet girl. this was beautiful. thank you so much for sharing your story - i'll share a bit of mine -- i grew up financially secure but in a very unhappy home. my parents had a truly terrible marriage, unfortunately. i so admire the story of your mom doing what she could to make your lives more uplifting, what a gift! and what a gift it has been to make friends with you through the blogging community. thank you for being my friend!

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    1. You should know that you are my FIRST blogger friend Melissa and it was reading your blog that made me love blogging and decide to embark on this adventure :) Thanks for sharing your story darling! I think my parents would have been happier if they had divorce. My mom was quite miserable in that marriage but she stayed "for the sake of the kids".

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    2. ugh that's hard. i wonder how much our lives would have been different if my mom had divorced when I was younger -- I was 26 when they got divorced and it was just awful! i think it would have been better if they had done it when I was 4 or something -- but my mom was too afraid to strike out on her own. Oh well, still here, still standing! :)

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