Most Pluma clients know her as Samantha. Her official name is Ibtisam Nisan. She was born in Iraq forty years ago. At the age of nine, along with her mother and four siblings, they escaped from Iraq and the warfare of Saddam Hussein.
Along with hundreds of others, Samantha’s family walked for several days until they reached Turkey. While the people walked, many carrying their children and whatever belongings they could hold, American planes dropped food and water to keep them alive. She remembers little about this walk, except they were frightened, cold, wet from rain and they were exhausted and their mother kept them moving forward.

​Milton Hershey… more than a Chocolatier…an Inspiration

Born in Pennsylvania in 1857, Milton Hershey had experienced hunger and poverty throughout his youth. With limited choices and a routinely absent father, he left school at 14 and began a series of apprenticeships; he found success in the candy making industry 12 years later, as owner of Lancaster Caramel Company. After selling his caramel business for $1 million in 1900, he built Hershey Chocolate Company near where he grew up in Derry Church, Pennsylvania. There he mass-produced affordable, delicious, milk chocolate candies, created employment opportunities for others and utilized the rich, creamy products from the dairy farming community. 

​I’m inspired by a new year. The changing of the seasons has the same effect as do pregnant women. And my grandchildren inspire me to appreciate what is growing and what is anchored in our lives. It’s easy to tumble into what scares us and holds us back from growing and enjoying what is still in front of us to discover. The sun comes up, the holidays roll across our calendars, our children become adults and we have multiple decisions to make on a daily basis…. this is life unfolding. And for some, everyday life is inspiring. 

Inspiration may come knocking at our door.  But we must invite it in. Every day, any day can be inspiring, the invitation is wrapped in our ability to let it in.  

My baby sister Connie was born a raving beauty. Her large dark brown eyes, full heart-shaped lips, dimples, and small up-turned nose made for a spectacular face. As she matured, she was tall and slender with narrow hips and ample breasts, she was more than attractive. As the youngest child of four siblings, she was only 18 months younger than I. I am the middle child between her and my older sister and our brother is the oldest. 
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When we were very young still holding hands with our mother while out walking, women and men alike would stop us and while staring at Connie would remark to our mother what an exceptionally beautiful child she was.  Maggie, my older sister and I, accustomed to the comments, would simply step aside and let her revel in the compliments. 

​After years of writing the monthly Pluma Snippets, I found myself this month, out of words. Which is unusual for me. Those of you who know me, would never describe me as running out of words. Inspiration usually comes from clients, friends and family, current events, books and articles. But no matter how much I saw, read, or heard, nothing would stick with me and call, "here take me…. I want to be the next article."

Until this evening when my friend Michelle Mills, after giving me a restful massage, jokingly said, “Beatings will continue until morale improves.” This statement had nothing to do with the massage or our earlier conversation, but it was funny and a great ending to a very pleasant experience. LOL!

When all is said and done, no matter what we think we want: money, health, possessions, relationships, travel, success, consideration, good looks and a great body, it all comes down to the bottom line…. we want peace of mind. We believe that when we get what we want or arrive to that precise destination, we can finally experience peace of mind.
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Years ago, at a workshop on spiritual and personal development, I participated in an exercise intended on reaching the bottom line of what truly matters in our lives. Of course, a very personal matter, each one of us has specific desires shaped by our background, environment, education, lifestyle, beliefs, and our mental and emotional capacity to foresee a future of joy and peace. 

How often have we heard the statement from someone who has been traveling, ‘It was good to come home.’

I have certainly felt the welcome of my own home even after a day’s work at the salon. And as the holidays get closer, yes! the holidays begin in a month, the thought of coming home ushers in yet another interpretation of coming home.
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A few years ago, I was introduced to Joanna and Chip Gains, The Fixer Upper Show. While traveling to San Diego to visit my new grandson Finn, I would stay at a hotel and while relaxing in the evenings in my room, I would binge on their home renovation and design program.
I was entertained and enjoyed watching their personal, as well as their working relationship as they demolished and rebuilt homes and brought joy to anticipating families. A sort of love story with a happy coming home ending…. every time.

​This July our Pandora Music at the salon insisted on playing Christmas music. It made us laugh. 
Over the 4th of July weekend, I drove to San Diego with my sister,Maggie, and her husband, Gary. I sat in the back seat of their SUV, feeling like Ms. Daisy, with a great driver. Maggie and I remembered our times traveling with our parents to California. We laughed as we told our stories and Gary made sure he found the cleanest restrooms for us to stop. The more we laughed, the more we had to stop. We recommend the restrooms at Home Depot in El Centro. 

Although Samantha at the salon is quiet in her manner, she has a great sense of humor. Actually, she is really funny with remarks about things that I completely miss. We laugh…a lot. 
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When women make a list of the kind of man they want for a life companion, sense of humor is a top 3 quality. I agree, and I’m sure that goes for men as well, right after good looking. 

One thing I know for sure, words are powerful. Whether written or spoken, words can transform lives, destroy hopes, quell fears, inspire dreams, confirm expectations and fill us with a lifetime of experiences and possibilities. 
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When I begin the process of writing a Snippets article, I consider the holiday for the month and a theme that will support the holiday. Next, I pay attention for words that will fit the theme. Sometimes it’s through reading books or articles, hearing a podcast or joining a room on clubhouse and many times, it’s a client who will drop a word in my thoughts as happened with last month’s theme, ‘good enough’ from my friend Stephanie. This month considering the 4th of July celebration, I’ve collected a few influential words through quotes that came my way, reminding me of the precious freedoms we have in our country.  The quotes are in bold, followed by my insights.

While Mary Beth and I were writing our fourth book in the Living Brave series, Finishing Strong…Stories of Women Becoming, a certain word kept coming up during the interviews with the women we interviewed: enough. When are you enough?

The answers surprised us and equally confirmed our own feelings of becoming enough. We discovered most young women struggle with feeling enough, Especially before reaching the age of 50. After 50 women wrote they began to understand that enough is not based on having or doing more or being perfect. It was accepting where they had landed in life, no matter the previous circumstances. It was good enough.