Grand Prize winning entry in the Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway

November 6, 10:00 AMAlbany Family ExaminerJo Brielyn

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Albany Family Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Photo courtesy of: A Celebration 4 Life

Congratulations again to Laurie Darroch-Meekis for her Grand Prize-winning entry in the Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway! Laurie will receive a T-shirt, two Do Life Sports Caps and a KeepKool Bandana. All of the prizes are provided by A Celebration 4 Life.

Here is Laurie's essay:

Inspiration can come from anyone in your life. If you are lucky, in the course of your lifetime there will be many people who inspire you for different reasons. I was very lucky. One of my greatest sources of inspiration not only came to me in my lifetime but she gave me life as well, my mother.

This was a woman who not only grew from her own experiences but who enriched other people’s lives by sharing her own. She was beauty and style, grace and diplomacy. She taught me to always live in ways that I would be proud to have reflected back on me, my family, my country, my host countries and states, my maker and myself. Heart and humanity was of primary importance to her.

We moved and traveled to many places when I was growing up. The life was interesting and incredibly enriching but at the same time, it was a constant challenge. She met every challenge head on, not always without turmoil or stress and not always easily but she grabbed our life and gave it heart and soul. The world is a treasure trove of experiences and people of every kind. Her attitude and the way she lived was a beacon.

At the heart of every challenge was this beautiful, gracious lady who knew how to make the most out of every experience, good or bad. She knew how to live in each place and not just be there passing time. She made it an adventure, a life experience and a home.

She embraced the cultures, surroundings, people, sights, history and the life of each place. She taught us to do that too, to find appreciation, understanding and the pure joy of exploring and learning. She opened up the world for us and encouraged us to never stop doing that ourselves.

Even in the lowest parts of her life, she thought of others. The smallest kindness or act of caring and diplomacy could make all the difference. She opened our minds, our hearts and made us want to embrace the people and places around us. Maybe she was not a paid ambassador, but no ambassador ever did more to promote understanding and love.

She is gone now, but not really. She was and is real inspiration. The kind she encouraged and lived is the seed and breeding ground of hope and understanding. It is life.

I am proud to call her Mom and to have been called daughter and friend by her. I always will be. My children and husband never met her in person, but they know her because she inspired the same seeds to grow in me. She taught me well.

Thank you to Laurie for sharing her story with the Albany Family Examiner's readers.

To learn more about Laurie Darroch-Meekis or read her other works, please visit her website at www.darroch-meekis.webnode.com.