Some Things Take Courage

 

There's something touching about watching a child prepare for their first day of school. The careful selection of the perfect outfit, laid out the night before. The new backpack, zipped and unzipped a dozen times to make sure everything fits just right. The quiet rehearsal of walking to the bus stop, just to be certain they know the way. Most of us remember our own version of this ritual. Maybe it was practicing a locker combination all summer long, terrified of fumbling with it in a crowded hallway. Or memorizing the route between classrooms, worried about being late and having everyone stare. Those seemingly small preparations felt monumentally important because, to a young mind, they were. What strikes me now is how we adults sometimes forget what it feels like to face something completely unknown. When did we stop remembering that every "first time" requires a special kind of courage? That six-year-old practicing their walk to the bus stop is doing exactly what we all do when facing the uncertain - finding one small thing they can control and mastering it. The truth is, we never really outgrow those first-day butterflies. Starting a new job, moving to a new town, walking into a room full of strangers - that same flutter of uncertainty is still there. The same need to prepare, to practice, to feel ready for what we can't possibly predict. Maybe that's what courage really looks like. Not the absence of fear, but the willingness to take the first step anyway, even when your heart is racing and you're not entirely sure what comes next. After all, we were all beginners once.   Zen Ziejewski CEO, Team Leader & Realtor Z Team Real Estate Group Mobile: 949-391-3141 Fax: 949-891-0385 Email: Zen@ZTeamREG.com DRE#00998118

What Did You Learn From Your Dad?

 

I was thinking about fathers today — what they give us, what we learn from them and how those lessons stay with us long after they're gone. Some of us were fortunate to have fathers who showed up consistently and taught us through words and actions. Others learned from father figures, mentors or the absence of them. Whether our experiences were filled with warmth or marked by complicated emotions, many of us carry something forward from these relationships that shaped us. What strikes me most about fatherhood isn't its perfection but its impact. The values we choose to embrace, the traditions we carry forward and, sometimes, the cycles we consciously break are parts of this inheritance. We can honor what was meaningful while creating our own definitions of what it means to care for others. Today, whether we're celebrating, remembering, reconciling or simply acknowledging the complex emotions this day brings, we can take a moment to recognize the lessons that strengthen us, the memories that guide us and the love — whether abundantly given or achingly absent — that shape our understanding of care and commitment. What will you choose to carry forward? What will you leave behind? These choices make our journeys uniquely ours, even as they connect us to those who came before. Happy Father's Day!

Can a Mother's Instinct Change the World?

 

The influence of mothers shapes us in subtle and profound ways. Although every mother doesn’t achieve heroic recognition, their daily choices, their persistent faith in our potential and their quiet wisdom help build the foundation of who we become. Through their example and encouragement, we often find strength we didn't know we had. During the 1950s, when Eustacia Cutler took her 4-year-old daughter Temple to the doctor, she heard words no mother wants to hear. The doctors diagnosed Temple with autism and then recommended institutionalization — the standard medical advice of that era. They said Temple would never speak, never connect, never thrive. But Eustacia saw something different in her daughter's eyes. Where others saw only limitations, she noticed how Temple could think in pictures, how she related to animals in unique ways and how she processed the world differently — not wrongly. Against the prevailing wisdom of the time, Eustacia made a bold decision. Instead of institutionalizing Temple, she created an enriched environment at home. She hired a speech therapist, encouraged Temple's natural interests and, most importantly, presumed competence when others assumed limitation. Her insight proved transformative. Temple Grandin went on to earn a Ph.D., revolutionize animal science, design more-humane livestock-handling equipment used worldwide and become one of the world's most-influential voices in understanding autism. Today, Dr. Temple Grandin often credits her success to her mother's early insight. "My mother never gave up on me,” she said. “She recognized that different didn't mean less." Sometimes a mother's wisdom isn't just about raising a child; it's about changing the world's perspective, one person at a time. Happy Mother's Day!