Is daily life really so tough?
Well, yes, it can be. Here, though, is to keeping things in perspective.
For more than a month now, Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to present stories about your neighbors - neighbors who have faced challenges that would seem insurmountable to many of us.
But not to the people we've featured in this series, Journeys. Not surprisingly, the stories have generated dozens of comments on Patch and on Facebook: "Great story..." "Thanks for sharing..." "So wonderfully inspiring..."
And, so, here they are again. Great stories shared to inspire. Take a look at what these people have faced. Then click on the story to see their responses. And, feel better about things.
Tarrytown Mother Nurtures the Art of Crafting
Like most single mothers will tell you, everything Tarrytown's Blanca Medina does is for the benefit of her child. In her case, this happens to be a smart and talented 13-year-old who clearly has been given every opportunity: he's on scholarship at the Harvey School in Katonah and takes music at the Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains.
"I'm working always for something for him," Medina said. Being a good mother of course has its price. Medina is an immigrant, who speaks passable English, but she has found herself working within the limitations of her status here since she came from Peru 15 years ago. She cleans houses, and travels by bus, often as far as Brooklyn, to do so, but the work and the commute is taking its toll. “I’m getting too old,” she says, and adds that her eyesight is starting to fail her.
________
Survivor Rides for Other Young Women with Breast Cancer
Thirty-three-year-old Jamie Pleva Nickerson will be a 4-year survivor of hereditary breast cancer when she and her team ride from Valley Forge to Washington DC this fall.
It's the East Coast's annual Tour de Pink, sponsored by and on behalf of the Young Survival Coalition, an organization dedicated to helping young woman who are at risk for, recently diagnosed, battling or survivors of breast cancer.
________
Croix Sather Quotes 'Rocky' but It's His Story That Inspires
Quoting the great philosopher Rocky Balboa (yeah, that Rocky), Croix Sather uses his best Sylvester Stallone impersonation to underscore his message: never give up, ever.
In that vein — mixing humor and his own emotionally stirring stories filled with remarkable detail — the man who ran from San Diego to New York in 100 days straight delivered a rousing speech to a crowd of Connecticut business owners.
________
Mary Ann Wasil: Changing the World One Girl at a Time
Mary Ann Wasil is determined to change the world — one girl at a time.
A breast cancer survivor, Wasil is the founder of The Get In Touch Foundation. She is the winner of the Oprah Magazine CoverGirl 2010 Giving Beautiful Back Award, and she just released her own book, "A Diary of Healing: My Intense and Meaningful Life with Cancer."
________
Clint Greenbaum Makes Life's Mission to Pay ‘Miracle’ Forward
When Clint Greenbaum’s son Jake was only 3 months old, he and his wife, Elisa, got the news that no parents should ever have to hear — their baby had a malignant brain tumor.
“He had major brain surgery and then chemotherapy, but he was very lucky — he survived. Most don’t,” Greenbaum said. “He’s an absolute miracle. We call him our miracle boy.”
In the years that passed, Jake, now 21 years old and unable to speak, developed a love of baseball games — something that inspired Greenbaum to pay his good fortune forward by co-founding of Seats of Dreams, a national nonprofit launched in 2012 that gives donated sports and entertainment tickets to disadvantaged, disabled or sick children.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
