What's Your Passion?

I've been thinking a lot about Passion lately...not the roll-around-with-the-hunky-beefcake-in-the-sand-with-waves-breaking kind of passion...I mean the kind of passion that people have about something they love...something that they HAVE to do! My mother and brother are two of the most passionate people I have ever known. My mother is THE MOST passionate musician I have ever known. She eats, breathes, lives her music and shares her talents with anyone and everyone. She has known all of her life that music would fill her world.

My older brother is a pilot. My entire life I knew that he would be a pilot. I knew that he loved to fly and he worked harder than anyone I know to make his dreams come true. He washed airplanes at a small municipal airport when he was a kid just to be around them and to learn more about them. Then on his 16th birthday, he took his first solo flight and received his pilots license BEFORE his drivers license! I guess I've grown up a bit envious of people who have such passion and have always thought that I was lacking it.

As I read all of these amazing blogs, I see women who are visibly passionate about somthing. Photography comes to mind. Their photos absolutely turn me green with envy. Or their homes are beautifully decorated. They have talents and abilities that I can only dream about. Then I got to thinking about my different loves and talents and was actually surprised to realize that I do possess passion in one form or another.

So here is what I'm passionate about (in no particular order):

1. My *Littles*. I have 5 grandchildren and I ADORE them all. They make my heart sing and without them I would be empty.
2. Music.  Coming from a home where my mother is a professional musician and my dad was an executive for a record company, I was constantly surrounded by music...all kinds of music and I realize that there isn't a day that goes by where I don't listen to some type of music. I have realized that I don't have to be in a Symphony to have passion. I can't imagine a day without it.
3. Cooking. People who knew me even 10 years ago would laugh! As I was raising my children, I loathed having to cook. But these past 5 years or so, I have become a "Food Network" addict and have found some amazing blogs (this one and this one for example) that fire this passion up inside me! When I cook I feel joy. It's a trip to create something that smells good, looks good and tastes good.
4. The Gospel. I was raised with a great spiritual foundation and have always believed in God and loved Jesus Christ as my Savior and Redeemer. But in the last 5 or 6 years my love for the Lord and the scriptures has grown immensely and has become even more important to me and I can't imagine life without it. 
5. My Marriage. Brad and I are about to celebrate 6 years. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I have never been so fulfilled and happy with someone as I am with my sweet husband. He is a man of great character and integrity who shows his adoration for me everyday. He works hard and is generous in every way. He loves my children and grandchildren and has erased the "bloodlines"...they are HIS children as far as he is concerned. He has given me a precious daughter and I adore her as my very own. We are blessed beyond compare and I love him with all of my heart. I adore being married. He's my best friend and it's a BLAST!

I guess I do have passions. Maybe we all do. Some people are just blessed to be able to make a career out of theirs, like my mother and my brother...some passions are more visible than others.

So what are your passions? I would love to hear about them...Come on, you know you have them!