Some people say the first step is the hardest because it’s the scariest.
Some people say the middle steps are the hardest because they can be the most challenging.
And some people say getting to the end is the hardest because the end is never really the end. By the time we get there, things have changed so much, it’s time to start again.
For over a year, I’ve been recording Mission Driven Monday, a weekly video-cast series. I interview women I admire, and we chat about our proudest accomplishments, the things we’re learning in our current season, and the legacy we want to leave. It’s been a lot of fun, but one thing I’ve learned is that people have short attention spans, so I’m trimming the fat and spending the next 52 weeks sharing the best little nuggets from every conversation.
Meet Amy Phelps!
My friend, Amy, was my first interview subject. She’s a mother and a wife, a former teacher, and a current autodidact.
Don’t know know what an autodidact is? If I was a teacher, I’d tell you to look it up so you would remember it better. You probably should look it up anyway because an autodidact is a self-learner.
I met Amy in the way that all young moms do—in the preschool carpool line. All the minutes we spent together at birthday parties, mother/daughter teas, and school programs, added together to create a beautiful friendship.
I say this a lot, but none of us are JUST moms. We make PB&Js AND we make art. We give baths AND we give time to causes that matter. We do homework AND we do both paid and unpaid “job-type” work.
All these responsibilities can leave us feeling both full and empty at the same time. Our kids don’t need us less as they get older, but they do need us in different ways. Nothing stays the same, and so we must do the very thing we tell our kids to do—adapt to change.
Amy, a former Biology teacher, is learning how to do photography and web design, a strong departure from her former world of plant physiology and animal dissection.
She says, “All you have to do is start. And then you realize you’re not alone.”
There’s this song I love from the 1960s, a turbulent time in the United States for sure, but I also think it fits here.
These lyrics of “The Times They Are A Changin’” are as relevant today as they were more than fifty years ago.
“Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that getting anywhere in life requires taking a step. I need to be reminded that while taking steps is good, the payoff isn’t always at the end. Who we meet along the way is usually the best part of every adventure.
My friend Amy knows that. College ends, and life with family begins, children grow up, and the things that worked for us in the past may no longer be the things that sustain us as welcome the future.
I’m grateful for our friendship. And it wouldn’t have happened if we both hadn’t taken steps toward each other nearly a decade ago. As our paths crossed, so did our work.
If you want to see our full interview, you can watch it here.
Want more GOOD STUFF?
I wrote this FREE GUIDE, and it’s just for Mission Driven Women. Fun fact: Amy did all the design and layout! You can get it free here:
Take the first step
You don’t have to know what you want to be because there’s so much joy in discovering WHO YOU WANT TO BE.
All you have to do is start.
And then you realize you’re not alone.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING YOU BECOME THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BE?