I Am Proud Of Myself!

She made me realize this. The lady next door. Six months since we moved here to UK, I've been seeing her almost everyday. We often use to greet each-other whenever we met, but it never went beyond that, until that very day!!

Just a week back, I took my little daughter out for a walk, and she was sitting there in front of her house, enjoying the sun. After the usual hi, hello, how're you, I asked her if she was working. And she said that she has a business, but she was on a temporary off for the time being. That sounded just fine, until that moment!!

Before I write anything, I'll introduce you to this lady I'm talking about. She looks very decent, speaks with utmost generosity, and I've never seen her hanging around gossiping for a moment. She smokes too much, has a 9 year old son, and her free time is generally engaged enjoying the sun. She seems to be middle-aged, might be in her late thirties, and one of the most fashion conscious people around myself.

So, coming back to our discussion, I asked her what her business was. And she said that she had the cleaning business. 'I clean the houses', that is what she said!!

That was the moment of many mixed feelings. I was extremely shocked. Here I was, much more educated, much more settled professionally, much more comfortable financially, but still MUCH MORE INTIMIDATED. I could count umpteen moments in my mind when I would be completely silent, not ready to talk about myself, not ready to say a word, if I had the slightest doubt that I was talking to a person superior to me in any respect. If I were her, I would have said nothing at all about my work. Next, she asked me what my husband was doing. I said he worked as an IT professional for AstraZeneca and she said, she had also worked for AstraZeneca. She used to sweep floors in the company, 'those were nice mornings', she said!!

The air of confidence with which she spoke is beyond any explanations. That single moment has inspired me so much, I'm bound to think back. What is it I'm ashamed of in my life?? Why am I not able to feel good of myself each time?? Why am I intimidated by the more rich, more educated, more sophisticated looking beings??

Might be till now, but no more... Thank you Mandy!! You made me feel this that 'I am PROUD of MYSELF'!!