Day 10/30 – I have many friends who are inspirational, but today I’m going to highlight three.

One doesn’t have a website and just recently got her first smart phone. She has seven children, a job playing the piano for school musical offerings and is in charge of keeping the nursery at church staffed. Her goal in life? To have the freedom of schedule so she can be there to help anyone who is in need. Over the years, I’ve seen her cooking for the families of people who were hospitalized, weeding gardens for people who were not home for extended periods of time, babysitting, reading to shut-ins, etc. And it’s all under the radar. I only know about it because I’m part of her existence.

The second is Linda Stanek | Children’s Author, Teacher, Speaker. She is a children’s author, but also so much more. Her passion for animals permeates through every part of her being. She nurtures cats and fights to save elephants. I think I could read her Night Creepers a million times and never get bored.

And the third is Mary Beth Schewitz. She and her husband lived through every parent’s nightmare when their 20-year-old son died from an undetected heart condition, but they turned the negative into a positive by creating a non-profit (Max and the Wild Things) that bring screenings into schools to prevent the occurrence in other kids. There is a fabulous interview with her here.

These friends (and many more) inspire me on a regular basis to become a better person.

• For November (the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US), I’m trying to blog about something for which I’m thankful for each day of the month.