It’s hard sometimes to give ourselves credit. We all need a pat on the back. Why not give it to yourself? We have all worked toward the condition we currently find ourselves. If you have found some measure of success then give credit where it is due. Even if you consider it a small victory it is worth feeling good about. You have a job? You live in a nice place? You teach your children? You donate time or money? Today, I will pat myself on the back. I will think of will and perseverance. I will smile. Well done my friend.
It doesn’t just honor you but those who pushed you forward through their own love and sacrifice. I sit here on the 7th floor looking across downtown Kansas City. I think of how my mother put together a small suitcase with cassette tapes and read along books when I was 4 years old. I was so happy and warm in those modest moments. We didn’t have much and our home was most humble in any measurable way you can imagine. She cared enough to give me hope and see beyond Silver City, New Mexico. Here I am, so many years later. I am listening to my headphones the same as I was. I can’t help but feel grateful. -Ruven Ortiz
