It’s a challenge, but one that I am inspired to accomplish and I want to inspire you too.
Week 4 inspiration:
Pyramid isn’t just where I work, but its where I have alot of friends. My friends sell insurance, tend bar, work for doctors, non-profits, county government, NIH, teach at Montgomery College, teach in after school programs, at universities, in public schools, are property managers, self-employed, lawyers, artists, graphic designers, physical therapists, teachers, moms, dads, & retirees.
They come from all over. They are all different, but they are all compassionate, creative, curious and crazy. They all encourage me when I am afraid and help keep my feet on the ground when I am overwhelmed and feel like I am about to drift away.
I didn’t always know what friends were. When I was a kid, my mother used to say, “You have no friends, just acquaintances.” She didn’t know what friend were. She didn’t trust many people. She left Cuba, came to the US and married and divorced in a span of 3 years. In 1966, being a single mom with a young daughter AND Hispanic in the United States could not have been easy. Her family was not very proud and let her know. She learned not to trust people and I did too. Then I met Lisa.
Lisa & I met in 1992 on the 4th of July in DC. I was introduced to her through a friend I went to college with. I didn’t know when we met we would marry 4 years later, but I do know that I thought she was beautiful and kind. Kindest person I had ever met. She would come up to NYC and visit me and we would have fun walking to Central Park, in Rockefeller Plaza, (that is me & Lisa below at Rockefeller Plaza in December of 1992) through the Upper East Side. We tell each other stories. We would encourage each other’s dreams and aspirations. I remember feeling like the luckiest person in the world when she would visit. I felt special.
We have been friends for 19 years and married for 14 of those years. I have learned everything about being a friend from our relationship. I have learned friends are patient & kind. Friends love you even when you can’t love yourself. Friends tell you the truth, even when it hurts. Friends are happiest when you are happy, even if it means they are not. Friends are in it for the long haul.
My favorite movie is, It’s A Wonderful Life. At the end of the movie, the angel tells George, “A man is never poor if he is rich in friends.” I am a billionaire.
I hope I inspired you.
Help me reach my goal by clicking here to donate, any amounts makes a difference and gets me that much closer.
Thanks & feel free to forward to your friends.
Jose
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