“Don’t give up the dance. Dance all you can, when you can.  Don’t give up the song.  Sing all you can, while you can.  Even though the notes come out wrong, don’t give up the song.”  I love the words to this song because it reminds me to be happy, sing , dance, and don’t worry about making mistakes, taking chances, or leaps of faith.  The song continues “Life goes so fast like sand through a glass”

We all know people who have taken leaps of faith, or those who tried, and tried again and again to create,  promote or build a design, plan or project they were passionate about which would benefit  many people .

These people are entrepreneurs.  They have a vision and fully believe it can be done.  They keep working, through failure,  disappointments to find their way.  They don’t give up easily with bumps in the road, water over the road, or a windy narrow road to climb.  They move ahead slowly, with a steady focus. The blocks they encounter are soon in the past and then they laugh, sing and dance again.

My sister, who was ten years younger, struggled with personal life challenges, with bumps in the road and a steep hill to climb.  Her professional life was different.  She was lead worker in a grant program for aquaculture at the State Department of Agriculture.   She provided her expertise with government officials, universities, and private industries in planning, organizing, and coordinating statewide and national meetings, calls, conferences, and seminars.

She thoroughly enjoyed working with people all over the country in all aspects of planning those National Conferences every year.  She was loved by hundreds who knew her as Teri,or little t.  When she could no longer work in the office many felt a great loss as she did too.   She said she learned acceptance with her struggles as just another bump in the road.

She was a free spirit and  loved riding motorcycle.  She added “wings” (extra wheels)  to her motorcycle when she grew weaker.   She said it felt so good to have her hair blow in the wind again, after Chemo was stopped and her hair grew again.   She named her motorcycle “Wings” and a friend added the angel wings to her picture after she passed.   She was known as “Indy” by her motorcycle sisters.  These words she wrote to them before embarking on a cross country road trip.

“You gals, you Iron Butts, you go riding your 800-mile days across this country. Not me,” she said, “I’m content taking my time, riding 200 miles a day. It’s what my body can do. I just have to keep moving forward, one mile at a time.”

She always had a smile, and continued to look for meaningful ways to help others and be happy herself.   Theresa continued to dance, laugh and sing.  Taking a trip to TX for an extended visit with her brother and family was her way of saying I love you!  Come dance with me!  ♥