Inspiration: Live What You Love — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

Reading is the absolute last hobby on this earth I have interest in. Book reports always took me hours to write because I refused to read the book. I would skim pages and piece the story together the way I imagined it would go. Reading and comprehension tests bored me to tears, so I would read all the answers first and skim the paragraphs; looking for key words and never finishing on time.

That means one of two things, when I recommend a book it’s either a) super excellent because I actually finished it or b) you can’t really take my opinion seriously because I don’t have much to compare it to. I did only pick it up off the shelf for the bright orange cover.

Live What You Love by Bob and Mel Blanchard is a book that I read thoroughly and enjoyed. It made me shake my thoughts upside-down and remember that there are things that can happen in my life besides the daily routine. The stories of this family living a happy and unusual life were the most amusing and inspiring thing I had ever heard about.

They walk through a series of decisions they made to chase their dreams. Some didn’t always work out the way they planned and HEY! They are still alive to tell about it! And guess what, many of their adventures have worked out quite successfully. They own their own restaurant on Anguilla Beach and have a home they visit in Vermont, which they built themselves.

The book reassured me that it’s alright to not follow the normal pattern of life everyone else follows. It’s okay to have unique ambitions and interests. It also got me thinking about what dreams I have, once I let go of all the negative barriers that suppress them. What am I good at, what do I want to be good at? What have I always wanted to do, but felt it was not practical, or worried I would fail? We all have these lists that we need to revisit. I know that every person on this earth is blessed with talents and abilities. We don’t always know what they are, so we get to follow our interests and try them out. It’s hard to form that list again, so think like you did when you were young. Long before your mind was molded into a template of life’s traditional patterns.

Some interests may not be a talent. As much as I love to skateboard, I am not talented at it. I am incredibly uncoordinated, so I accept it as a mediocre hobby I visit when I feel like it. I look for something else to spend my free time on that provides more reward and progress.



Learning to play the drums is something I always wanted to do. Among all the items on my list, this was the one that excited me the most and made the most sense to pursue in my life at the moment. I knew a talented drummer that would be willing to give me lessons for a fair price. I knew it didn’t take too great of a commitment, 15 minutes of practice a day and a 1 hour lesson once a week. I knew I could purchase a used drum kit and had space for it in my home. I knew I could make it work.

I also knew I wanted to have more children in the future and the window of time I had before another one came along would be enough time for me to learn the basics of drumming easily. I know that when another child would enter the family scene, there would be less time for me to indulge in drumming. I couldn’t allow this dream to be delayed any longer. After my first lesson I knew this was something I had a knack for and couldn’t wait to play again.

I now play in a three piece band every week. I will continue to develop this skill within the realistic time schedules my life allows, and that I seek to carve out for my soul. I simply love playing the drums more than I ever imagined.

What do you love?

Live it.