Inspirational People and Slurpees...

So I was dying of thirst yesterday and decided to venture into 7 eleven to try out the famous Slurpees that everyone has talked about - yes, it's sad, I have lived here 7 years and have not yet tried a Slurpee - anyway I am faced at the machine trying to decide which one to get (I almost called Erika but my cell phone was in the car) and eventually decide on the orange one. So I fill my cup and then realize that it seems to be going down rather rapidly like the fizz is disintegrating or something, so I keep filling. Then I have this brainwave to put the cone shaped lid on and keep filling the cup, just so I get a little more... all was going well and the Slurpee was delicious (I am officially a fan), and I am standing in line waiting to pay and the cashier is taking ages to serve people because she keeps answering the telephone which is ringing constantly, so the lady behind me and I start talking about the slow service and according to her it is always like that in this 7 eleven (the one on the corner of King/Ivy). Anyhow, by this time the Slurpee has decided that it can seep out the edges of the lid (as I had really overfilled it) and down onto my arm and hands. By this time the cashier is ready for my money and I am fumbling around in my wallet, my hands sticking to everything I touch including the $5 note I hand her, which was kinda embarrassing. So I walk out the store and hear my name being called and lo and behold its from a friend of mine, Michelle Annese, who has her own Karate school off of Ohio.

So we sit in her sweet Mercedes SUV, which makes my new Toyota Camry look cheap, and chat about life and such... Michelle is a really sweet person who, with her husband came to Waynesboro to open up a Karate school 8 years ago. They took some huge financial risks to make the school work and I am sure made a lot of errors along the way, not to mention raising 3 children around it all, so it has been a tough road, but their business is at a point where I would say they have the "financial freedom" we all long for. They have worked very hard to obtain this and obviously not without sacrifice, but they are their own bosses, running a very successful school, doing something they both love doing and have watched it grow from nothing. They have recently revamped the whole place too, and it looks fab.

Then there is my masseuse, Ann Coman, who also has built her massage business up from scratch and is also very successful, (she has built her business up in a small room in the Karate school) and has also came from nothing - literally - her and her husband had $100 in their pockets when they moved to Waynesboro, and things went horribly wrong for them both immediately after arriving (long story)... now, she is a flourishing masseuse, and sometimes my shrink!

All around me there are inspirational people, the Golds, striving hard to make their tax offices work while sacrificing all the time, the Lassens, about to finish their education to fulfill their own employment pursuits - and maybe kill a few more mice along the way! My neighbors, Jess and Sonya who have their own successful painting business, even though Jess does not enjoy job, Cindy and Bob Mutscheller who have their own window cleaning business, just to name a few.

Dave and I would love to have our own business and if the opportunity ever came our way, we would definitely try. Not sure if we are as brave as everyone mentioned above to live in debt doing it, which is probably why we don't MAKE the opportunity happen... but for now, it is just nice to sit back and admire others who put so much on the line everyday and sacrifice so much in order to make their dreams happen, you are all very awe inspiring people who I am blessed to know...