Make no mistake about it, by all accounts, I am a “City Girl”. However, when I decide to do something, I am all in! I adopt this “thrive or die” attitude not only for myself, but also because I am careful about what I model for my daughter. So, I am proud to report that while my Chanel pumps are collecting dust in my closet (it would be sacrilegious to get rid of them completely), I am teaching myself to build fences, capture rainwater for the animals, garden, raise chicken and goats and so much more. My philosophy is, “We are smart, tenacious and not afraid of hard work. I’m confident we can figure it out!” Now, I admit that, deep down, I haven’t believed that 100% of the time. For example, my confidence was wavering a bit when I was pulling one leg from a pair of tights over the downspout of the gutter that I created to filter the rainwater and avoid mosquito larvae from developing in my rain barrel. Guess what? It worked and I even found a pair of white tights to match the gutter, so it is hardly noticeable…. but my sense of satisfaction is not!
Like all aspects of life, there have been some bumps in the road and the learning curve is huge. For me it is all about perspective. I often hear my daughter’s equestrian instructor remind her to “look where you are going”. In fact, when you are simply walking a horse on a lead rope, you never look at the horse. You give the horse a command like, “Walk On” and focus your body and eyes in the direction that you want to go. Perhaps there is a more universal application. If you know that you are smart, tenacious and hardworking and you focus on the direction you want to go, what could you accomplish?
