Still Going

Jekyll Island Marina - FD Thornton

 

I was finishing up a story this morning that I had written a few days ago. While using Google Gemini to check my spelling and punctuation, we got into a conversation about lessons learned and doing someone else’s work for them. You see, with Gemini, I have a number one rule: “I do all the writing.” It’s something we established a while back and still observe today.

Anyway, while discussing the previous story, I mentioned an old wives’ tale my Grandma often repeated: “I hear you, but I ain’t listening.” It means I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t believe it. The AI got a chuckle out of that because I was applying it to something it had said.

My point here is that life and determination are more than just words. They are a lifestyle of getting things done. Now, I am the last person to hold a candle to anyone else’s flame and judge. God knows I’ve made more f*ck-ups than most. The thing is, when you do stumble, dust yourself off and keep moving forward.

Again using the example of my grandmother: she grew up in a broken home and never learned to read or write as a child. She married at 14 years old, had three sons, and then moved from the country to Savannah, Georgia during WWII. She had two more kids, including my mother, and raised them in the projects of East Savannah. She taught herself to read and write using the newspaper—all while helping raise a whole community of teenagers that hung around her home.

She took care of my grandfather after a heart attack nearly killed him, and she never learned to drive. After my grandfather passed, she still held court at the kitchen table with my uncles and their friends from the old neighborhood for decades.

And people wonder why I am so determined and driven.

Life offers you examples, both good and bad. Fortunately for me, I had more good ones than bad, but I still stumble and fall. The point is: are you getting back up and still going?

#Determination #Drive #Forgiveness #Legacy #BeAnExample