Inspiration, Hump Day Hmm

Today's Hump Day Hmm asks us to write about another blogger that inspires us. My response might not fit within the expected parameters of this question. but I know immediately who I want to write about when I think of inspiration. My wife inspires me every single day, and since she also blogs at Attached Parent, I will write about her.

My wife and I met six and a half years ago online. Almost from the beginning, I was amazed at her range of abilities and experience. She can play a large variety of instruments - violin, piano, marimba, drums, and almost anything else you can bang, beat, or shake - and teach others to do so as well. She makes beautiful quilts and embroiders neat patterns on clothing with her sewing machine. She takes amazing photographs with our two cameras, many of which adorn the walls of our home as our primary decoration. She worked for several years on a music degree before deciding it was more important to raise our daughter than finish, then she finished her degree online in criminal justice, requiring two years of hard work in addition to the long hours she'd already dedicated. She was involved in more clubs and teams in high school than I was, while taking a very challenging schedule including some independent study. The day we met, I recommended a book to her, and the next day when we talked again she used the word "was" in referennce to it. She had actually gone to the library and read the book I suggested that very day. I have been impressed every day since in new ways. The biggest inspiration to me is her faith and how much she is guided by it. She regularly encourages me to pray about big decisions, but also about small ones. Most of all, she inspires me to believe in myself. She tells me great things about myself and my abilities, but she does it in a way that I know she believes in me. She was a cheerleader in school, and I think it is one of her greatest abilities in life, to cheer on others. She is the leader of my cheering section, and I am so grateful to have her in my corner. I am also thankful that she is my biggest critic. I do not, by nature, lie very often, but there are times when I want to believe something that is not true and I convey that mistruth to her. She won't stand for it, and she won't stand for me tearing myself down, either. She lets me know when I am wrong, and she helps me know when I am right.

In the past two years, she has supported me as I have faced my diabetes. I have improved my diet and increased my exercise, and she has done her best to keep me on track. Right now, as we consider our future, she has stated in no uncertain terms that she wants me to pursue my dream, even if that dream might mean financial struggle for our family. I cannot express how empowering it is to have a wife I can look up to, who I can lean on, and who I can count on for support when times get hard.

If you're reading this post, Ellie, I hope you know I love you, and I am so grateful every day that you are in my life. You inspire me to live up to your expectations, and to set my own higher than I might otherwise. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

-- Robert