Well it's March now...A funny thing happens sometimes when you have a blog, so I've heard. The second people start reading it, the less you want to post. I know, I know. I wrote about this in October. After my amazing experience at Oprah's O You! conference I started noticing people were reading the blog.
Not making headlines on the Huffington Post or anything crazy like that. But it feels different when someone you know comments in person about your blog. Wait...you read that? Who else is reading it? It's crazy, I know. Yet it still gave me pause and had me self-editing everything I wanted to write about. I started to worry about being to personal when we own a business and are working hard on our brand. It felt a bit like what I imagine walking down the street in underwear might feel like. And then I remembered something...that's stupid. I started this blog for a reason.
The past five years have been really tough. There. I said it. Sitting at a three hour pre-op appointment today for my upcoming sixth surgery (yes I said sixth) gave me lots of time to think. And think and think and think. The biggest part of my Fresh Start Project is getting back on my feet again, literally.
So next week I'm scheduled for what had better be my last surgery ever, not counting a few nips and tucks I've had my eye on. Kidding. Sort of. The fancy name for the surgery is a discectomy and possible laminectomy. I call it the get-this-damned-sciatic-nerve-under-control surgery.
Because trust me, you don't want to ever sit before anyone, especially a bunch of health care professionals, and listen to them tell you that you're "too young for these problems, sweetie". No kidding. As they hook you up to tests and draw blood, then ask you for the millionth time to rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10. And you blink back tears and mutter "I don't know. It's been a tough couple of years" when you really want to scream "it's a 12, stop asking".
I sat there at the hospital promising myself I'd go home and write about it, so here it is. I've been told I won't remember exactly how I felt or what I was thinking down the road, and I want my story to help other people someday.
It's hard to imagine not remembering all of this, but I'm sorta glad I wrote it down, just in case...
March 15, 2012
November 2, 2011
A-ha
For anyone who's reading this, besides my hubby or dear friend Nem, please don't worry that I suddenly dropped dead at the O You conference. Despite my sudden radio silence I did make it home safely. And happily. Since then I've been trying to take it all in and live what I learned. It hasn't been perfect. Just the other day my dear hubby said "hon, maybe you need to go re-connect with Oprah". Ouch.
I had my own "A-Ha" Moment during Oprah's speech. Rather appropriate, I'd say. I was so excited to be at O You and I wanted to share it with everyone who couldn't be there. I felt for the women who were disappointed at missing it, as I had been in the past. I caught myself snapping pictures, recording bits of audio or thinking about what to tweet, and I wasn't being present in the moment.
I noticed it as the little "whisper", as Oprah calls it, when my battery started dying in the middle of the day. Did I really use the phone so much that the battery's already getting low? Then Oprah walked onto the stage looking absolutely amazing. I took a few pictures of her onstage and on screen, like below, to remember being there. I caught myself being so distracted in preserving the moment that I wasn't actually experiencing the moment.
And then an amazing thing happened...My phone died. I actually laughed because I knew it was a small version of the "smack upside your head" that Oprah talks about. I was grateful for the reminder to look around me. I was having a moment that I had dreamed about since I was 10 years old, 25 years ago, watching Oprah after school while my single mom worked. So I listened, and I mean really listened, to what she was teaching. Because that's what Oprah does. She teaches, if you're willing to learn. Anyone who has watched Lifeclass can attest to that. More on that later.
What I learned that day I will share, this I promise. For now I leave you with something pretty amazing...A link to Oprah's speech at O You. Strength + Strength + Strength = Power.
I had my own "A-Ha" Moment during Oprah's speech. Rather appropriate, I'd say. I was so excited to be at O You and I wanted to share it with everyone who couldn't be there. I felt for the women who were disappointed at missing it, as I had been in the past. I caught myself snapping pictures, recording bits of audio or thinking about what to tweet, and I wasn't being present in the moment.
I noticed it as the little "whisper", as Oprah calls it, when my battery started dying in the middle of the day. Did I really use the phone so much that the battery's already getting low? Then Oprah walked onto the stage looking absolutely amazing. I took a few pictures of her onstage and on screen, like below, to remember being there. I caught myself being so distracted in preserving the moment that I wasn't actually experiencing the moment.
And then an amazing thing happened...My phone died. I actually laughed because I knew it was a small version of the "smack upside your head" that Oprah talks about. I was grateful for the reminder to look around me. I was having a moment that I had dreamed about since I was 10 years old, 25 years ago, watching Oprah after school while my single mom worked. So I listened, and I mean really listened, to what she was teaching. Because that's what Oprah does. She teaches, if you're willing to learn. Anyone who has watched Lifeclass can attest to that. More on that later.
What I learned that day I will share, this I promise. For now I leave you with something pretty amazing...A link to Oprah's speech at O You. Strength + Strength + Strength = Power.
October 15, 2011
O Wow!
Well it's 6:15am and I'm in line for O You! I met some lovely ladies in my hotel lobby. Apparently I'm not the only excited early riser!
The lineup is long but the spirits are high. Stay tuned for updates all day!
The lineup is long but the spirits are high. Stay tuned for updates all day!
October 14, 2011
Atlanta!
I'm now in the back of a taxi in Atlanta, blogging so I don't watch the driver navigate traffic. Next stop is check-in at the hotel, then find something half decent to eat. Why does airport food have to be so nasty? And expensive?
On the road!
It's Friday morning and time to leave for O You! in Atlanta. I'm on my way to the airport now, so stay tuned for live blogging and tweeting all weekend!
And a Happy Anniversary to my sweet hubby Chris. Not many guys would be cool with their wives hanging with Oprah on their 11th anniversary.
Atlanta here I come.
And a Happy Anniversary to my sweet hubby Chris. Not many guys would be cool with their wives hanging with Oprah on their 11th anniversary.
Atlanta here I come.
October 8, 2011
Dear Oprah...
It looks like the Fresh Start Project needs a fresh start.
Here's the ironic thing about this blog. What I created as an outlet to keep on track and relieve stress during a crazy time actually became one more thing for me to worry about. I began self-editing and thinking about blogging as a pain, rather than a really cool way to document getting back on my feet.
After lots of thought (and a long talk with my dear friend Nem) it became clear that I had to take another look at my project.
The move is over, we're (slowly) getting settled, and our new photography business is growing. It's time to focus on the physical and mental areas needing attention, and by that I mean my ever widening hips and how I'm coping with it.
It's back-on-track time. Step One? Hang out with Oprah and friends October 15th at the O You 2011 conference in Atlanta. Step Two? Write an email to Oprah and friends (once again at Nem's encouragement) telling them why you're traveling all the way to Atlanta to see them, just in case they are looking for a pet project.
Stay tuned for updates and tweets from O You. Wonder what the chances are that we'll hear "you get a car, and you get a car!"?
Here's the ironic thing about this blog. What I created as an outlet to keep on track and relieve stress during a crazy time actually became one more thing for me to worry about. I began self-editing and thinking about blogging as a pain, rather than a really cool way to document getting back on my feet.
After lots of thought (and a long talk with my dear friend Nem) it became clear that I had to take another look at my project.
The move is over, we're (slowly) getting settled, and our new photography business is growing. It's time to focus on the physical and mental areas needing attention, and by that I mean my ever widening hips and how I'm coping with it.
It's back-on-track time. Step One? Hang out with Oprah and friends October 15th at the O You 2011 conference in Atlanta. Step Two? Write an email to Oprah and friends (once again at Nem's encouragement) telling them why you're traveling all the way to Atlanta to see them, just in case they are looking for a pet project.
Stay tuned for updates and tweets from O You. Wonder what the chances are that we'll hear "you get a car, and you get a car!"?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)