I am determined. Determined to make today better than yesterday. Like my beautiful Derya I am greatly influenced by the music I listen to. Often times, it can change my mood quickly or bring me to a more powerful point within the mood I’m in. We’ve all experienced that point – the one where you make your decisions, your determination. You re-affirm your thoughts and direction.
It’s inexplicable. But I got to listening to Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynard. And I reached that powerful moment.
I am determined. I will not falter. I will not fail. I am struck by the Latin phrase. INVICTUS MANEO – “I remain unconquered”
I am reminded of my late mother’s favorite poem from Tennyson. The last lines of which go something like this:
“Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
-Ulysses
My message to you is simple: Things will be bad, they will be good. They will be what they will be. But in your darkest time, do not yield.
Today is about Heroes:
Our hero today is my wife Samime. I think many of you can sympathize with what she has gone through, either because you’ve heard her stories or are going through something similar. She, like me, has struggled and made it. To her, I say INVICTUS MANEO. We’ve both traveled this road together. It’s been a tough road, a road filled with purpose and purposely filled with potholes by some. Still, she has persevered. When she dips, I pick her up and vice versa.
The attached picture is the woman I married. It personifies her life. She’s not a rule breaker as much as someone who can see dumb stupid and idiotic rules for what they are – dumb stupid and idiotic. This picture was taken at the family waiting room as we waited for a spinal tap for Derya. We were at the hospital of the doctor who shall not be named. Notice the red sign on her left and what she is holding in her hands.
It’s not easy, but she has been a rock! She’s a rebel and for good reason. Her life has dictated – be a rebel or be destroyed.
She read everything above this before I posted this and approved it. This is the part she hasn’t read. She won’t speak of the tears, the sad faces, the anger and frustration that has crossed her face but it is all there. She is good at staying strong but in a world that has worked against you, it’s impossible to not have emotions.
The goal in life is to live it. Samime has. She has tried to do as much as she can despite the limitations she has been put through. Those limitations haven’t been just from the hospital that shall not be named but from life itself. She has always from the beginning till now – struggled.
I cannot think of anyone who I would want to go through this nightmare with other than her. Often, she is the light that gives us a vision of the future and the path we need to take. I’d like to use the certain words to describe certain people who have hurt us – but I won’t because of the family nature of this post.
We pray everyday for guidance and strength.
I love her for more than her good looks. Invictus Maneo!