Gratitude Post: 2400 East

Gratitude Post 2

This month’s gratitude post is centered around one of the many people that have helped me realize my potential.

For this woman’s kindness, her family and her compassion, I am forever grateful.

2400 East

The street that I grew up on rarely changed. My neighborhood sat in an upper middle class community at the base of Mount Olympus in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I was friends with the majority of the kids on my street, but as I got older I realized my sisters and I were different than the rest of them.

You see, we didn’t have a household with both our mom and dad, in fact we were raised primarily by our Grandparents. We didn’t have the newest clothes, but always seemed to have what we needed despite what people would say about us.

The Change

I remember when I first saw a car pull into a house across the street. I was always eager to have a new family move into our neighborhood in hopes of meeting new friends, maybe even someone like me.

The summer before I went into Jr. High, I recieved what I was asking for.

The Harrisons

The people who moved into the house across the street were a single mother named Ann and her two sons, Tim and Pete. These people would become essential pieces in my life.

I immediately made friends with Tim and Pete and quickly learned that they were not only accepting of my family and myself, but they were “different” in their own right.

They didn’t go to the Mormon church (something 95% of the people on my street did), their mother and father were divorced, they were very respectful to my Grandma and Grandpa, and never spoke harshly about my mom or then missing dad.

While I am thankful for the entire Harrison clan, the person I would like to highlight in this second Gratitude Post is Tim and Pete’s mother, Ann.

Empowering a Child

It’s not always easy to see the blessings and compassion someone’s showed you until you spend some time later in life reflecting back upon those people who truly made a difference.

From the first few months the Harrison’s moved onto 2400 East, Ann treated me just like a son.

She made sure to invite me to dinner almost every time their family went out to eat. This helped me see a bigger life than just tv dinners and frozen pizzas. While out at dinner she would kindly show me the proper ways to eat with manners and opened my mind to new foods.

Ann was always willing to help my Grandma. In fact, my Grandma somehow knew that she would be an essential piece in my life and allowed me to stay at their house any time I pleased. My Grandma knew that Ann cared about the future of not only her sons, but also that of my sisters and myself.

Ann’s compassion and kindness opened my mind to a new way of life. Sure, she wasn’t a multi-millionaire financially, but her kindness and the way she cared about the well-being of my life was worth more than any dollar amount.

Lesson Learned

Here are 3 of the Key things that I learned from the compassion, kindness, and acceptance shown by Ms. Ann Harrison:

#1 – Treat Children Equal – Ann reminded me that I matter. She also taught me that I have the power to live a life of beauty, regardless of what people may say or believe about me or my family.

#2 – See and Do Your Best – Ann also taught me the importance of work and doing something you love. I watched over the years as her passion for teaching empowered hundreds of students. She is one of the people who helped me realize I could actually go to college and make something out of my life.

#3 – Lend a Helping Hand to People Who are in Need – One of the greatest things Ann taught me is to look past the appearance of people and see their hearts. It would have been easy for Ann to see us as a dysfunctional family and not help us in any way. She saw past my mother’s addiction, my missing father, my skin color, and my elderly Grandparents, she saw me for me.

Thank you Ann for being such a positive and influential force in my life.

Great Reminder

This Gratitude Post is another great reminder that we all have an Ann Harrison in our lives. We all have people who have empowered our lives and helped to create the person we are today, as well as people in our lives now who are helping us realize our gifts and potential.

Who are the Ann Harrisons in your life? How did they empower you to be the person you are today?

Think about it and leave your comments below.

Please understand that even if you’ve had a less-than-perfect upbringing, you can focus on the beautiful moments and people in your life.

We don’t have to be poisoned with the past. The past can be our inspiration and motivation.

(Three Key Tweet)

Gratitude

Spend some time today being grateful and reflecting on the beauty, the people, and the experiences that have gone into producing the person you are today.

Thank you for spending a moment of your day here at Three Key Life.

I am grateful for you.

If I can help you in any way, let me know.

 

Peace

Happiness

Compassion

Respect

 

Jeffon Seely

 

Three Key Life

 

 

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/4759535950 – woodleywonderworks – http://photopin.com – http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/