tag i'm it!

A couple months ago (has it REALLY been that long?) Janine over at Reflections of a Redhead, a fellow blogging friend and part of my favorite group of bloggers (check out the BLOGS+ tab at the top of the page for my PBAUs buddies) decided to hit me with a game of tag.  I meant to answer immediately, but life got in the way, and I had one of the busiest summers I have ever had in my life.  Life has a way of leveling out though, so I am going to answer her challenge to me now.  I decided since so much time has passed, that it would not be fair to pass the tag on, so y'all are off the hook. :D

The rules:
Wait, I'm not passing this on, so there are no rules.  Wow.  That was incredibly easy.  I like no rules.  This is going to be fun.

Wait.  Now I have to answer Janine's questions.  Answering questions about myself is not an easy thing to do.  I'd rather know more about others, and am always curiously watching the world around me.  But, in fairness to Janine, I will answer the questions she listed in her post.

1. What is the thing that makes you want to get out of bed every day?
I can't wait to see what the day holds, whether it is work, or my art or photography, or chasing the grands, every day is a brand new start.

2. What do you tell yourself to get through painful, difficult or challenging times?
I have a personal mantra, and an escape plan.  I've always had them.  My mantra is "this, too, shall pass" and reminds me that nothing remains the same in life, and moments pass into other moments, whether they are good moments or those challenges that make you wonder how you will survive them.  My escape plan is still there, but I have never had to use it.  Maybe because I always had it!

3. What can you look back on and remind yourself you were successful at, or were strong enough to come through?
That would have to be graduate school.  Within a six month period, my daughter got married, I had major surgery (a week later), and my dad died a couple months after that.  It was the worst period of my life, and I tried to quit school, but two wonderful friends, and an instructor who wouldn't allow it, pulled my butt through that period of pure misery, and taught me what friends are really about.

4. Look around you at this moment and choose one thing to smile about or be thankful for.  What is it?
My sisters and daughter, mum and even Stevie Wonder.  Familia.

5. If you could do anything at this moment to make yourself happy, what would it be?
I would freeze this moment in time with my family, along with all those moments of my life, and relive them over and over.  Like reruns of a favorite movie.

6. Do you have a special place, real or imagined, where you go to in your mind or reality to regroup, seek peace, or just be?
My favorite thing to do is to grab Big Girl and head to my yard, usually late evening.  As I take pictures of my world, I gain a new appreciation for the microcosm that is my part of the universe, and how unique life is, in all its wonderful forms.

7. Has there been a particular book that you have read that inspired or motivated you to seek your potential?
Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose changed my life in a profound way. It challenged how I thought, and how I existed in every moment of my life.  Astounding.

8. What childhood fable, fairytale, or movie stretched your imagination and sticks with you to this day?
Although I loved books and read everything, and Grimm's Fairytales made an impression on me, it was National Velvet with Elizabeth Taylor.  It was the story of determination, and the power of believing in yourself, as well as the power of a woman's determination.

9. What is your favorite form of art and artist (anything you consider art qualifies).
This is one I can't answer.  I love all forms of art, and the creative spirit, which exists in many forms, including the written word, the fine arts, and music.  I have a passion for it all.

10. Do you have a personal anthem, a song, that reminds you of who you are and want to be, that represents the ideal of you?
Anything by Tina Turner.  She is an icon to success in the face of adversity, and believing in yourself.

11. What did you experience while answering these questions?
I realized how much I have to be thankful for, and that life is an adventure I look forward to every day I wake up.  And gratitude to Janine for nominating me for this game.  I have never been good at games, but I am always willing to jump in and try.

Thanks Janine, you inspire me!

...life is good. ~cath
  find me @jonesbabie on Twitter