This morning I was exhausted.
We were in Iguaçu Falls in Brazil. It had been 4 days of travel delays, long flights, quick stopovers, early excursions, and finally my body was catching up with me. I was exhausted and sleep was needed. We were booked to go for a walk down to the falls at 8:30 and my alarm was set for 7am so we could get ready, eat and then meet our guide, Doug. Sunny woke up at 6am and at that moment i told him to cancel the guide, I was tired. He got up and said we’ll see. I fall back into my coma and awake when I hear the room phone ring. I answer the call and Sunny is telling me the guide is downstairs waiting. I had missed Sunny’s eight calls to my cell phone, but the room phone woke me. I’ll be honest, I was a little irritated that I had told him to cancel poor Doug, but Sunny said we needed to get up to experience the falls.
He wasn’t going without me, so hurry up, he’ll bring me some coffee. FINE, I’ll go. So I quickly got dressed and made it downstairs 15 minutes later. It was a beautiful day, even though I started with a jacket, i could feel the weather warming up. The way down to the falls was just outside our hotel. We started down the trail, Doug leading the way. Now, we are New Yorkers, and poor Doug had learned the day before, that we walk fast. So he quickly moved aside and told us to lead the way. I felt a little sorry for poor Doug, people in Brazil walk very slowly, and here we were, this very American family walking like we were on a mission. He was huffing and puffing by the time we got to the end of the trail.
Well, this morning it was just me and Sunny. So we leisurely walked down the trail, well, let’s be honest, we covered an hour long trail in 40 min and that included quite a bit of time taking pictures. When we got to the bottom of the falls, it was 9am. There weren’t that many people and so we got to take in the beauty in its serene magnificence. There was a rainbow behind us as the warm mist hit our faces. I looked at Sunny and this was definitely the best moment of our trip to that point. It was so beautiful.
I sat there taking it all in. To think, I would have missed all of this if Sunny hadn’t pushed me that morning to get up. It made me realize that we all need someone in our lives that pushes us, even when we don’t think we want to be pushed. I love adventure and the outdoors. He knew that I had wanted to see it the day before, so instead of letting my tired mind speak for me, he gave me a few more hours of sleep and a small nudge in the morning. He spoke the magic words, “I have coffee waiting for you,” and my sleepy mind was quickly overruled. I jumped out of bed, a woman on a mission and was downstairs within 15 minutes.
As we walked down to the falls, I knew, this was a good decision. Holding Sunny’s hand, as we strolled down to the falls, I reflected on that moment. We all need someone in our lives who is always motivating us, challenging us, teaching us, and supporting us. Whether it is a spouse, friend, sibling or parent, there are days when we all are tired. Where our mind may want us to take the easy way out, or in this case, the tired mind may want to sleep longer or skip the gym. Having a person in your life that knows you well, understands how you are wired, and when to push or console, is key. I truly believe we need many of these people in our lives. Whether at work, home, or in our social circles, we all have those individuals that push us to try new things, continue to grow and persevere, or motivate us to that next step. As I took in the beauty of the falls, I realized that maybe we don’t say Thank You enough to those people who help us experience life and make us better. So there, under the falls, I gave my Sunster a big kiss and thanked him for always pushing me to be better and experience life.
Who is that person in your life? Think about it. We don’t always take the time to identify people in our lives that help build us up. There could be one or many. Let’s take a moment to identify and appreciate all they do for you, and thank them for making your life better.
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