When I met Lori, I saw her as a fun, outgoing team member working at Disney World. Always smiling, always happy, always caring, always looking to take care of the people around her so that they were smiling and happy. It didn’t take long to learn more about her as a person. Her love of drawing, painting, sketching and art was one of the first things revealed.
Lori was always busy. Busy doing something. Anything. Lori was career driven. She was always updating her resume and meeting with anyone who would listen to her ideas. And she had lots of them. Having a job, a career, wasn’t enough for Lori. It also had to be fulfilling. There needed to be something more that she was getting out of the job than a pay check. And if she wasn’t getting more out of the job, she would move on to the next job with the same enthusiasm she had for everything she did.
I remember working on Lori’s tax returns and sorting through all of the W2’s. Never less than two and usually three, four or five them per year. A great representation into the world of Lori. But it didn’t stop with the jobs. It expanded into her personal life too. I would come home from work and each day seemed like a new adventure. She would tell me about how she signed up for a sewing class. Next time it was a gym membership. Then it was an art class. Or taking a pottery class with her sister. Lori trained for and ran the NYC marathon. But when there was any down time, Lori always ended up back with a pencil and notebook. Drawing.
Buying things was part of the adventure too. Sometimes it was simple things like new flowers or decorations and other times we were coordinating picking up a piano. We also acquired the world’s heaviest treadmill machine. Lori wouldn’t leave a rock unturned. She tried everything.
Last year, a movie came out called Zootopia. For those who haven’t seen it, the quick summary is that a small but energetic female rabbit wants to be a police officer. She is full of positive energy and has the never give up attitude. I didn’t make the connection too much at the time until a few months after, when I happened to listen to the words to one of the main songs in the movie called “Try Everything”.
“I won’t give up, no I won’t give in.
Til I reach the end and then I’ll start again.
I wanna try everything.
I wanna try even though I could fail.
I’ll keep making those new mistakes
I’ll keep making them every day.
I won’t give up, no I won’t give in.
Til I reach the end and then I’ll start agin.
Try Everything.”
Lori worked in radio and tv. She worked Taste of Charlotte. She worked at a bookstore, clothing store and ice cream store. She wrote a kids book. Lori became a real estate agent. She worked at an equestrian center. She was an event planner. She would draw and paint. She was even a mascot. She volunteered at the church. She worked out. She volunteered at the school. She made bears. She owned the websites for Coffee Talk and Lil Bears. She would be the first to tell you that she made some mistakes, and she knew she could fail, but that didn’t stop her. She would never give up, never give in. She would try everything.
Trying things and liking things can be two very different things. Some people try things because they can’t find the right thing. They can’t find passion for what they are doing and continue to search for their happiness. Lori was not that way. Lori liked most things she did. She took on more and more because of how much she liked to do. There were some things she didn’t like, but the list of what she did like was far more impressive.
“Daddy, I am working on a project for school and I need to make a list of things I don’t like. Can you help me?”
“Hmmm. I don’t know Lilly. What kinds of things do you need?”
“Anything I don’t like. I already have a list of the things I do like. It’s two pages long. But I don’t have anything that I don’t like.”
“Well, you don’t like going to sleep.”
“Daddy, I already put down that I like getting a good night sleep.”
“You don’t like being quiet.”
“Oh, that’s a good one Daddy! I know another, I don’t like being mean to kids.”
“That’s good too.”
So we managed to get 3 or 4 items on the “don’t like” list and last I checked, there were over 100 items on the “do like” list.
The path has already been paved by Lori and although I could argue that Lilly is on that same path, I also have this feeling that Lilly will find a way to create her own version of it. Lilly has her own way of making people feel good. Whether through her polite conversation or complimentary attitude, Lilly has an uncanny way of connecting with everyone.
We were at the Orthodontist and Lilly was getting braces put on. The nurse tells her that she did a great job. Lilly then says to her “why thank you, but actually, you did a great job.”
It reminds me of last summer when Lilly announced, “Daddy, I want to start a committee to hand out free hugs to people who look like they are having a bad day.”
Lilly has enthusiasm and passion that can be off the chart. And it’s genuine. Whether it was horseback riding or cheerleading, gymnastics or figure skating, when Lilly was in it, she was all in. It wasn’t just the activities. When she was younger and was into puzzles, she was puzzle crazy while it lasted. Every day. Over and over. Same with her passion for dresses (although she wouldn’t admit it today), mind craft, swimming, karate, under armour and now, tonight was her first soccer practice. She is all in. But when there is down time, Lilly will end up with a notepad and a pencil. Drawing.
It’s tough to know everything or remember everything about people who try everything. You are bound to learn something new about them every day. If you have the energy, watch Lilly for a day and you will see what I mean. And although I can’t see what Lori is doing every day, I’m still learning about who she is.
In cleaning up one of the dozens of Lori notebooks, I happened upon some certificates. I have just recently learned that Lori was a licensed Yoga Instructor. She has a Certified First Aid Certificate. She is also a licensed Tennis Coach. CPR Certified. A certified Aerobics and Fitness Instructor, And the best of all, a Certified Beer Master and Bar Tender!
I don’t know what Lilly will do next. I don’t know what Lori will do next. I don’t know that I even know everything that Lori has already done. But what I do know is that whatever they do, they will make mistakes and they may even fail, but they won’t give up and they won’t give in. And when they reach the end, they will start again. What will you do next? Will you Try Everything?