Today’s challenge for Bloganuary is to tell you about people that inspire me and why. 

Hmm, it is hard to pick one person, because there are many people that have inspired me throughout my life, and they still do. So I am going for the obvious choice and tell you about the two people that have inspired me the most: my parents.

Two different people, two different stories.

Dad

At the age of 48, he suffered from a heart attack, a severe one, that resulted in him not being able to live his life anymore the way he did. 

From this moment on he was homebound. Had to give up his job, couldn’t drive a car anymore, or even go to the pub to socialize with his friends! Which was one of his favorite things to do. He was a very social man. His door was always open to friends and family.

When this happened to him, he could have easily given up, but he refused! He chose to make the best of the life that was left! I admired him for accepting his new life and adjusting to it. He wanted to live and see us grow up, meet his grandchildren and enjoy all of the moments as a family. I can honestly say that after his heart attack he was more present then before. He never missed the opportunity to tell us that he was proud of us or loved us. 

In October 2016 he had another heart attack. Fortunately after his first one, he received an ICD, which helped him to survive this one. Even after this he remained positive. Of course he was scared, but he still tried to make the best out of the situation. He was even on the list to get a heart transplant. 

But in april 2018 he received some devastating news: he had cancer and the doctor told him his chances of surviving this were slim! And that getting a new heart wasn’t an option anymore. Here he was, a man that hasn’t stopped fighting for his chances of staying alive, adjusting so well to his new life, shattered by this horrible news. What did he do to deserve this?

Still he refused to give up! He did whatever he needed to do to fight this. And it worked! Around September that same year, the cancer had gotten smaller and the prospects looked good! But the treatments had weakened his heart too much. He ended up in the hospital and within a month he died. 

His fighting spirit, his unconditional love, and bravery will keep inspiring me for the rest of my life! 

A few life lessons he taught me:

• No matter how bad a situation is, try to make the best of it!
• Appreciate what you have.
• When you make a mistake, own up to it.
• Fight for what you think is worth fighting for and don’t give up!

Mom

Growing up she never failed to show me that it was okay to be who I was. We had our struggles growing up, like a lot of people do. I will not bore you with the details. She let me be who I needed to be. If I was angry, she let me be angry, and sometimes even made a game out of it! That helped because I couldn’t stay mad. 

If I was in a silly mood, she sacrificed herself. Poor mom! Because back then we had one of those joke stores in town. And I loved spending my allowance there! That meant I tried almost everything from that store on her! Candy that left you with a bright blue tongue, sugar cubes that were salt cubes, itching powder. You know, typical kid stuff! 

And this is one of my favourite stories. I had a period where when she showered, I often knocked on the door and asked: “Mom! Can you open the door please? I have to tell you something! It is really important!”. 

My mom replied: “Can’t you tell it through the door?” She knew what was going to happen. 

I said: “No mom, you really have to open the door!” So she opened the door and I threw a bucket of ice cold water over her. She screamed and I was laughing so much. 

When I was an adult she told me she knew, but loved how it made me laugh so much, she couldn’t bear to take that away from me. Bless her!

Because we grew up with not a lot of money, she had to be very creative when it came to out of school activities. But I loved it, because where other kids played with their computers, we learned to entertain ourselves with the simplest things. Once a week we could eat with our hands, make a slide with our mattresses down the stairs, redecorate the whole living room to make it into a playground, just fun stuff! 

‘Till this day she is there when I need her, makes me laugh, supports me in every decision I make, lets me make my own mistakes, and no matter what, loves me unconditionally! She is my best friend!

A few life lessons she taught me:

• Be yourself, no matter what other people think or say.
• Forgive yourself and others. People make mistakes, it is part of life.
• Enjoy life! Do what makes you happy!
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. Go through life with a bit of humor.