I had these four plaques scattered in various spots around the house–one was in a nightstand drawer, two were in boxes and one was in an office drawer. One day last year, I gathered them all together and hung them above the key holder in my office. The small one on the upper left was a gift from my Mom during my first year of college. It says, “Hang on, Friday’s coming!” My Mom sent it after one particularly hard week when I was really homesick and having a difficult time understanding the teachers in class.
The one on the upper right was given to me by my Aunt Gertie. It says, “Lovely flowers are smiles from God.” Aunt Gertie, my Mom’s sister, was profoundly deaf and she was battling cancer. She didn’t have much time left. I was ten at the time, sitting on the edge of her bed and I remember her smiling. There’s a picture of Aunt Gertie somewhere in one of my Mom’s albums; my sister Jeanie is holding a huge toy comb over her bald head and everyone is laughing. So when I see flowers, I think of Aunt Gertie.
The large one on the lower left was simply one that I found at either a garage sale or a store. It says, “The nicest days are full of love.” I had that one and Aunt Gertie’s plaque hanging on my bedroom wall for many years.
The last one on the lower right was given to me by my first itinerant teacher, Mrs. Rellis. Mrs. Rellis was a special teacher–she was the first teacher to sit me down and challenge me not to let my hearing loss hold me back. It says:
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are
something to do,
something to love, and
something to hope for.
Those four plaques are my source of inspiration every time I hang up a key. Do you have a source of inspiration that is special to you? Tell me about yours in the comments below.
This photo is a part of Wordless Wednesday, even though I used a bunch of words to describe it.
The first time that I saw Kathy Buckley on Comedy Central, I was blown away. There, standing on stage, was a hard of hearing gal firing off jokes and one-liners. Every now and then, I would see her throw in a sign or two, perhaps out of habit or perhaps to connect with the many deaf and hard of hearing people who enjoy her comedy routines.
and read through it three times. She was so inspired by Kathy’s life, that she selected her book for an autobiographical book report for school.
We talked about everything under the sun, from writing to traveling to bucket lists. It was a very enjoyable lunch!
