Like most people I do admire some people for their accomplishments and how great they are at what they do, for how intelligent they are and what they were able to discover.
Since I became a mother of 2 little boys, my list of heroes has changed a little and the person who is now at the top of my list is my grand mother Mathilda. She had 16 children! No that is not a typo she really did, and no twins. My mother is #15. If my grand mother was not the saint that she was, I would not be here today. When I think that my days are hard I think of her and how her days must have been...and she did not have all the things we have now to entertain our kids and money was tight and they had to do the best they could with a lot less. She raised 16 kids and they all turned out to be fantastic people who gave her over 60 grand children, some I don't even know and I am # 53.
Here she is with her 2 youngest children.
When I was 11 years old growing up in beautiful Canada, Terry Fox was a young man with cancer. The cancer took one of his leg and he started running the MARATHON OF HOPE, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research. His goal was to run across Canada and sadly his cancer spread and forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 3,339 miles. He was the bravest person I had ever seen. I was in awe of him, I still am to this day. In my country he is a national hero. I think of him when I run and the pain comes to pay me a visit or when I feel lazy...how much pain was he in? Laziness was not part of his world. I admire Terry Fox.
And then there is Dara Torres, my personal idol. She is in my age group, she is a mom, she is a super athlete. I always admired Olympians. I was on a swim team when I was younger. Back then running was not on my list of things I enjoyed doing, in fact I hated it!!!
Dara Torres has competed in 5 Olympics so far...and she is not done!!! In 1984 I remember watching the Games and seeing this American girl and thinking she is the same age as I am. I have followed her career with great interest because I can relate to her. When she competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing she was the same age I am now, 41 years old. One of her book is called "Age is just a number" and it is so true. To me she is a true inspiration. She is a single mother and she can compete with girls half her age and have you seen her body? All muscles!!! Whenever I don't feel like going to the gym or cutting the mileage I am supposed to do short, I always tell myself: "DT would not stop!"
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