My Mondo Beyondo assignment today was to write about who inspires me to take a chance on my dreams. The first person to come to mind was Oprah, but when I gave it a second thought, I realized the person who quietly realizes dreams, one after the other, is my husband.
Andreas, my husband
He wanted to own a house in Tuscany. He talked his parents into buying an old stone house when he was barely twenty, the same one that the whole family still enjoys today. He wanted to live in America in a wooden house in the mountains. He moved there in his 30s and we got married in our own beautiful house near Lake Tahoe. He wanted to fly airplanes across the United States to see the natural beauty and wonders of our land. He got his licenses in America and we spent eight years exploring beaches, cities, deserts, mountains in our Plane Jane. He wanted to be a father. He held my hand for eight years while we never gave up on conceiving, and he fed, bathed, and nurtured our daughter round-the-clock by my side for the first three months of her life. We dreamed together of giving our daughter a childhood in Europe. We three now live on a cobblestone street in an old Art Nouveau building in Europe. He wanted a roaring, sexy Harley Davidson. She is in the garage and he makes exciting roadtrips on his Road King. He is the biggest dreamer-doer that I have ever personally known.
Oprah Winfrey
A fearless, courageous visionary and truth-teller. A giver who built a world-changing enterprise.
Susanne, my mother-in-law
A doctor, who in her seventies took a sailing trip with her girlfriends, all skilled sailors, played the classical music at my wedding accompanied by her son and daughter, cross-country skied with us every year while we lived in Tahoe, continued learning languages until she died, and spent a bulk of every year in her beloved Tuscan home.
Anne, my mother
Vibrancy, energy, positive outlook, charm, dancer, singer, artist, social spark. My mom was the first NFL cheerleader (part of the first squad for the Washington Redskins in 1954) and has not put the pom-poms down yet. In fact, she performed at half-time for the Redskins this year and has another show this month. She has been my biggest supporter for my entire life, my cheerleader, my encourager, filling me with confidence and positive vision that I should just "go for it!" as she always says.
John, my dad
Rocket Scientist Extraordinaire. I spent my summers in New Mexico with our large family and extended family of NASA scientists and their children, all out there to test the latest rockets my dad and his colleagues designed and built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. From the first moment my body shook with the deep rumble of the rocket engines taking off to the time I buried him in our family plot when I was sixteen, my dad was an inspiration to me in how he channelled his unbelievable intelligence into one of the most exciting frontiers of the century.
Tante Inge
My husband's aunt, who started a women's art circle 25 years ago that is still strong and vibrant, and of which I was allowed to join. Her house is full of paintings, books, and juicy inspirations.
My Friends
Anne for her entrepreneurial spirit and tenacity with her husband, Michelle for her quiet insights, poetry and access to her emotions, Amy for her commitment to nurturing herself through dance and yoga, Lena for strength and building her own book publishing enterprise, Mary for her courage, Eli for her commitment to family and the community, Chau for her vision and ability to become a spiritual teacher with Thich Nhat Hahn, Julia for her artistic, well-run, organized home pulled off in a light and easy way, Elizabeth K. for her sensuality, artistic and creative expression through her fashion and home, her entrepreneurial spirit in starting her own business, her courage and strength to survive cancer, her courage to take her three children and leave her heavy marriage to start a new happier life, her ability to love me despite all of my flaws, my disappearances, my truths.
