What inspires you? What makes you Rise & Shine? Whatever it is, tell us about it!
Submit a story about you or someone you know who Rises & Shines! Email submissions to passion@atwproductions.com. We’ll choose one winning submission each month and send the winner a pair of FloydFest 12 ~ Rise & Shine weekend tickets. Don’t be shy ~ we’re going to post these stories on our homepage, Facebook, Twitter, and in the FloydFest program! Send photos and anything else that supplements your Rise & Shine story!
*By submitting your stories you are authorizing AtWP to utilize all submissions for any/all promotion purposes.
May Rise & Shine Campaign Winner
I did it again today, I sought happiness. I rose, I worked, I cared, I loved, I was a mommy, I was a wife, I was a friend - even when it felt like the walls were caving in, when the dog peed on the floor, when four clients called at once and when the baby would not nap. I will do it again tomorrow, and the next day, because I have passion. Passion for my career, my daughter, my marriage. I can do it all - I will do it all and I will not complain because I am lucky. I have a safe home, food on the table, my health and the health of my family.
Today and everyday I listen to the radio. It tells me stories about death in factories and lives destroyed by tornadoes and children who go hungry. I cannot imagine these things, not because I do not have compassion, but because I do not know how humans can have so much strength that they can move on from being orphaned, losing their limbs or spending days digging bodies out of rubble. I will be present for those moments that go by so fast, a sleeping baby, a sunlit porch, the untimely call from a relative, because you never know when it can all be taken away and you must be the person who learns how to move on.
Your parents are getting older, love them. Your children are changing, appreciate them. The earth is a gift, do not take if for granted. Life is full of moments that become memories. Savor the coffee, the smell of the beans, the farmer who grew them, the earth that made that possible. Feel the sand, the wind, the salt. Release the resentment, the anger, the tiredness. Be present, be grateful, be honest, observe, touch and feel. You’re lucky, your’re blessed.
Tanya Mandel – landscape architect, small business owner, fledgling writer, blogger, mother, wife, friend
