Greatness

Greatness.
I think we may all strive for that, some of us will admit it and others won't. I think that in the US it is commonly known that you should strive for it and up here where I live it's commonly considered shameful to strive for it. You shouldn't actually think you are "all that" and think you could reach greatness.

I think we are all great. We are, we're great at something and we do great things every day. Even if that may be considered greatness in the smaller every-day kind of context it is none the less important.

The regular "true greatness-greatness" that might be considered more grand and huge and brave, may be something we do more seldom or are part of more rarely. I listened to a person I admire, talking about greatness, and he said something that I immediately thought I must regard in my blog:
"greatness comes from almost dying but making it and then knowing nothing can break you", that's what he said.
It got my mind spinning! So much so, I started writing a longer text about it.

I'm sure some of you have experienced this form of "almost dying and making it" and I know I have. For me it was a lethal abusive relationship that meant 18 years of fear that didn't kill me (only almost) and made me know I won't break. It did, it provided that.
I often think about what kind of person I might have been, not having had that experience, but it's impossible even guessing. It would be someone far from who I am today, that much I know.

Greatness means inspiration, of course, and I notice over and over in life how I get inspired by people who have overcome hardships. People who "almost died but didn't" never complain and never wish bad things for others, instead they cheer good things on and enthuse. When you're so excited to be alive, to still be standing (and standing tall, at that!) you want to embrace every new day, every new possibility. And, wow, that stuff spreads!

Even now, writing this, I feel "great". That inner strength that comes with the unbreakability is a kind of harmony and feels good leaning on - and that's in ME!

There is one person in my life who really has reached greatness and that is my firstborn son. Yes, the reader who is slightly awake still (!) realises that very son was born into that lethal relationship I speak of above. He was born into hell and made it out 16 years later, so strong, so solid, with a deep, vast and warm heart and he truly is great. People that come near him, want to stay there.
I want him to stay here, whenever he visits!

Some pics from IG and iPhone, below, from around the time of his latest visit with his ever lovely girl:

They're here!!!

I am a happy woman.

Mr Funkie is well behaved!

My son helped my hubs with the Apple-TV...

Everyone is happy they're here!!!

B-day playing <3

Off for raspberry picking and beach:ing!

Surf's up!

Fun with that ice cold water..! (about 18 degrees Celsius)

Bathing with our pup <3

Young love!

That's MY son!

The viking lady - just running in to the icy ocean :-)

Kinect time!

!!!

She's so precious. I couldn't be happier with my son's choice <3

I love so much. He's my biggest role model.

I'm in awe and feel humble about the love we share, my boys and I and my husband and I. I am very thankful and grateful and I don't take my happy days for granted, at all.

A new week is here, folks!

I'll start every day as if it were on purpose and I'll catch the opportunities as they come along. Hope you feel you can too :-) Have a great week!

Change

Change is a word people feel differently about. Working as a leader I know some people need change in order to have fun, while some people need to avoid change, in order to feel secure.
In this house it's usually I who initiate change: I drag our furniture around, switch places of lanterns and art and exchange cushion covers and son on, in eternity! My husband? Not so much! He's like:
-Darn it woman, it's perfect the way it IS!
But I know that nothing in life is so good that it can't get better.
As simple as that!

How we solve this? That's simple too: I drag the furniture around when he's not here! And he will sigh but he'll accept, because he knows how I work, that I need this and he loves me. He also knows, by now, that I know my stuff and usually he'll agree that it did get better.

No rule without acceptions: I can listen to the same ole music year after year after year and I can cook my ole favourites when it comes to food, year after year after year..... Hubs will have none of that, he needs change in that area. Here he'll say:
-Jeeeeez, woman do you still listen to this playlist????! I can't believe it!

One thing is for certain: change will always happen. The life-death-life cycle will always continue and I think my paternal grandfather said it well:
-The only thing in life that you know for sure is that nothing will turn out the way you thought!
That is both scary and exciting, I think!
You definately need to let the old die in order to welcome the new, whatever it will be.

My husband and I will both welcome change in our professional lives this autumn. My unit got extended to twice its size and instead of two different workplaces, I'll manage five. It means new boss, new office and new co-workers and even new colleagues. I could tell the change was about to come, at the end of my vacation, since I had nightmares every night the last days. It was not a bad thing, it's the way my mentality works, it prepares me this way.
This passed week was the first week at my new job, you could say. My stuff got moved to the new digs (some remain at the old place), I claimed my place at the new office and it's a great new room there and my new boss was back from vacation. I have nightmares no more and I feel ready to kick some *ss, come fall!

My husband - yes, The Marcus - has had quite the journey in professional life: from getting his PhD, starting a company that he wasn't quite comfortable working with, he got into re-schooling (via unemployment) and has been studying 200% in order to get a degree in his childhood dream profession: economy! Via summer job as a caretaker of elderly he applied for and got a great position before he's even done with his studies!! Yeah, joy was all around this summer when he got offered the position!
His autumn will be starting the new job, in a new town and also continuing his studies but maybe just 50% instead.
I bet I don't swing for the fence if I say we'll be tired folks this autumn?! But happy!

Funnily enough we have never been as much in love as we are right now and have been the last six months. It seems when the going gets tough the tough sure gets loving and every minute or hour we get to have together are times we treasure so much, that we actually do celebrate them! And that does wonder for the marriage.

So I conclude: I am a pretty happy person right now and I feel love and loved, I feel challenged in a good way at work and I love my sons, husband and dog so very much. I'm in a goooooood phase and I hope it stays for a looooooong time!
I also conclude that I love change, thrive on it and find that a particularly exciting part of life - the "never knowing".

When my firstborn and his girlfriend were here I was extra happy, of course and so I leave with some pics from around that time.

Cleaning the ugly tiles that we aren't allowed to change.

Actually quite good fun!

Teasing the wife...!

Enjoying that!

He got bored with the goings on and took a break!

Dropping this! This time it didn't fall over my face and chest, like last time....!!!

Someone turned 8...

That was a good day in life.

He had a day off <3

Summer kept on.

And did a great job!!

I discovered no less than six wounded parts and had to stop exercising... 

Not getting too bummed.

Playing Kinect with his bro and his girl!

<3 <3 <3

Lots of huge lego projects to get going!

Yours truly.

We have got swallows living in our house <3

Summertime, I'm in  love!

So, with change, I guess effort inevitably follows? You must try harder, think new and get new perspectives. You get more alert and present and nothing is routine. 

Ending this post stating that I love change, after having rearranged some art in our house and going downstairs to listen to my old music and cook a sure thing that I've cooked a million times before ;-D

Have a great new week y'all!