On a day that reminded me of a date that once brought me to my knees, I decided to look forward and not in my rear view mirror.  I chose to fill my day by working through my ‘joy list’, do as many on my list as possible and start my day the way I love to.

 

I have 2 starts to my day – the first being the day as a Mum with cuddles in bed, making bacon and eggs for my growing boys and waving them off with full tummies, clean teeth, hair and shirts… having breakfast with the Big Man before waving him off too.

 

The second is my start to the day as me.  Just me. Ali. And she likes to go back to bed or find a quiet space and calm my mind after the chaos of lost shoes, finding clean shirts and cooking breakfast.  And recently, thanks to my back issues, I have reintroduced 10 minutes of a yogic flow before getting my running shoes on.    My second start to the day doesn’t always happen like that, but today it did.

 

I often find that when I run, words tumble out of me… and today, the words were in the form of a letter.    It started out as a letter of finger pointing and justification.

 

However, I was also keeping true to my joy list and learning, growing and listening to 2 of the women I find the most inspirational, hanging off their every word whilst laughing out loud; Oprah and Michelle Obama.

 

One of their first discussion points was the importance of knowing yourself, knowing who you are.  And most importantly knowing your value, what you bring to your life, your relationships, your family… what you bring to the world by being you.

 

So what started as a letter of justification of why he chose me, became more of an empowerment exercise, a letter to myself and a way to remind myself of who I was, the importance of my value and an exercise anyone should do who has had their belief system shattered, their support network rocked and their self-worth obliterated, or even if feeling a little low.

 

As soon as I had done it, and it didn’t take long, perhaps 2 or 3 rests in between sprints on my phone, I flew.  I was empowered.  And the rest of my day was filled with good, happy moments with good, happy people mixed with all the other ‘joy list’ activities.

 

 

 

I bring love. Life. Stability. Hard work, blood, sweat and tears. 

 

I bring security. I bring a beautiful past and an exciting future filled with our dreams.

 

I bring hope, joy and laughter with my arms always open.

 

I bring family, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, grandparents and life-long, trusted friends.  I bring unity.

 

I bring intellect, spirituality, curiosity, faith and belief.  I teach gratitude and vision in equal measure.  I bring life skills.

 

I bring commitment, tenacity, discipline, dedication.  I bring results.

 

I bring lessons in empathy, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, friendship and community.

 

I bring ears that listen and a heart that advises with authenticity. I bring a dictionary, a thesaurus and notes on English grammar.

 

I am a woman with means and morals, I am a master baker, barbecue baster, a mover and a shaker. 

 

I am an original, I am unique and I am proud to be me.