Sailing across the Mediterranean...

"I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary.

" ~Lou Holtz

My grandparents on both my mother's side and my father's side are immigrants. They moved to North America from Italy in the mid 1950's.   In Italy, they had comfortable and happy lives: steady jobs, decent wages, food on their tables and a plethora of family and friends. 

But they wanted more. Not only did they want more for themselves but they wanted more opportunities for their children and generations to come. Leaving their comfortable lives in Italy in turn meant that they would lead much more stressful lives in America.

For instance, in Italy, my mother's father, Salvatore, was a paralegal in training to become a lawyer. He earned a decent living and was on his way to a good paying position.  In America, he earned a lesser paid salary with no advancement and labored as a shipper and a receiver at a warehouse. During his retirement years, he was diagnosed and eventually succumbed to esophageal cancer after a painful yet courageous battle.

My mother's parents: Salvatore (behind life preserver) and Gina Molfesi, with my uncle Vincenzo Molfesi
Coming to the United States of America from Naples, Italy via the USS Constitution in 1956.

Factory jobs, third shifts, cultural unacceptance and a very long distance family were just some of the hardships that both sets of my grandparents endured.  Regardless of the struggles, they didn't hop on a boat back to Italy, defeated. Instead, they stuck it out.

I, for one, am glad that they decided to "stick it out" in America. They came to this country so that their descendants (me included) could have the best life imaginable. That is why I always remember to ask myself if I am doing enough to make my life the best I can.

My grandparents didn't come to this country so that we could live as Lou Holtz called "ordinary" lives. They had ordinary, comfortable lives in Italy but somehow, they knew that there was more available, perhaps not for them, but for their children, grandchildren and so on.

They and countless other immigrants made huge sacrifices to ensure that their families not only had a better life but better chances.

Here are the questions that I ask myself to make sure that I am not taking their sacrifice for granted:

• Am I really working hard enough at my career?
• Is there more that I could be doing to help my friends, family and community?
• Have I reached my goals?
• What other accomplishments do I want to reach?
• Am I living everyday as if it were a gift?
• How can I better take care of myself so that I can better take care of others?

Sometimes I write the answers to these questions down so that I can better analyze how I am living my life and how I can improve.  This may or may not be why I have so many to-do lists going at once.
Lou Holtz and my grandparents had the same brilliant idea: ordinary and comfortable aren't necessarily bad; but why bother with mediocrity when you can have more.

If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you.  ~ Louise Hay