An accountable single mother

I thought of a heroine in my life who deserves some recognition. To keep her identity protected, we will call her Jane.

Jane is a single mother of two children. She got pregnant her senior year but managed to still finish and graduate from high school. She married the father but later they divorced. He rarely pays up on his child support, and actually owes her quite a bit of money. Unfortunately, she cannot afford the attorney fees to sue him for the overdue money.

The reason that Jane is my heroine is because of this: she refuses to take handouts. She continues to work her hardest, employ her skills and talents, and wisely utilizes her resources in order to remain self sufficient and reliant. She works full time and is a mother, she has family help her tend her children, when in many ways it would be easier for her to simply show up at the welfare office and ask for money so that she could quit and be a stay at home mom.

I respect Jane so much for her willingness to do everything in her power and ability to remain afloat. She is a single mother of two who has the courage to take accountability for her actions. For this she deserves tribute.

Take note, I'm not bashing people who take welfare (although I have witnessed first hand in the E.R. how many abuse the system). I'm just saying that I admire and respect her for trying to make the best out of what is a tough situation. Being a single parent is a trial I cannot and do not want to imagine. Thank you Jane, for working as hard as you do, you are a heroine to all women and other single mothers!

A first story - disabled does not mean unabled

Nathan and I went to the Monster Truck Jam at the Energy Solutions Center for our Valentine's date. It was so fun and turned out to be the inspiration for my first story here of real life hope and courage. I do not know the name of the man, but I plan on finding out, for he was a real example of hope and courage, despite the odds. Here is the story.

At the end of the monster jam, each monster truck driver is allowed one minute of "monster truck free-styling". The driver of the truck Airborne Ranger was doing some pretty wild stuff, and ended up flipping his truck on it's back while doing crazy fast 360s. Immediately the crew ran to his aide. People with fire extinguishers stood by in case the truck should catch fire, and the medical crew worked to extract him safely from the vehicle. For some reason the medical crew placed him in a wheelchair after they pulled him out. My first thought, as an ER nurse, was oh no, did he hurt his neck? Gut reactions are usually a what is the worst case scenario in my training. Then the announcer said, "remember, disabled is not unabled." This paraplegic, who has been without the use of his legs for who knows how long, is a professional monster truck driver. His truck is specifically modified for him so that he can drive it all completely with the use of his arms and hands. He lifted his arms in a sign of triumph then rolled himself out of the arena as his truck was towed safely away.

This man is a modern day superhero to me because he had the courage to follow his dream. Sure it might have seemed impossible that with his handicap he could not drive monster trucks, but he wanted it and worked at it long and hard enough that he made his dream a reality. I believe he is and can be an inspiration to all of us, to look for ways to overcome our obstacles. This man showed me that the only thing limiting us is our own disbelief. Thank you Airborne Ranger, for your awesomeness in showing hope and courage!!!

I need your submissions!

Hello to all of my friends and family!

A little background on the inspiration for this blog. I've been going through quite a rough patch lately. This past week I got so down I couldn't see my way out of it. So many friends and family members offered me their love and support, and I couldn't have made it through without their help. In today's world, with the economic crisis causing people to lose their homes, jobs, and financial stability, it is easy to despair. However, the current climate of anxiety and fear, anger and misunderstandings, allows for ample opportunities to provide service to others, rise above the fear, and find out who we really are, and what we have the potential to become.

So I invite you to send me your stories of how others have helped you, or shown you an example of courage and hope in a time when there seemed to be none available. Who are the modern day superheroes in your life, and why? It can be a story of a random act of kindness from a complete stranger, to something on quite the opposite spectrum; someone who changed your life drastically by their service or actions or help.

Feel free to post your submission on my blog, or email me personally with the story at my email address, evangelinekwhite@gmail.com. If you wish to remain anonymous or change names, please feel free to do so.

I am so excited to see what we can learn about each other from this project! I feel that the world needs hope now more than ever before. Additionally, the average "janes and joes" in our lives are rarely recognized for who they are to us. This blog is a way to express our gratitude and tribute to the angels among us, the modern day superheroes (or heroines!) in our midst. I am also anticipating that as we read these posts, we can ourselves be strengthened through the examples of others.