Six months

I went to my regularly scheduled three month check-up with my oncologist this week. The news I got was so musical that I actually danced a bit on the way out of the office. I went to the appointment with a list of my meds, my workout routine, body measurements from January to March and a few requests. One of the requests was to be a six month visiting patient. I got a smile and snicker from the doctor and she asked me why I didn't want to see her so often. I said it wasn't because she smelled. I told her that I already work 13 weeks at a time because of the nature of my job and I wanted to change up my personal health routine. This was enough for her to agree, however, I needed to make a little more effort to eat more green veggies and come back to report on my progress. I also asked for her to approve my participation in the Art Bra event this year. Yes, be sure to let everyone you know that I'm going to be a bra model.

When people say, "You're so lucky." This is one statement I will own proudly because I truly am. Knowing that others still suffer makes me mad and work harder to keep healthy. Every day I rise with the sun, I know I am winning.

Item #44: Be kinder than you should be, especially to strangers. Spreading joy and kindness is free. Give it away in abundance.

I love your guts!

Two months into 2015 and this is what I know...

Courtesy of Google

I cannot believe we are almost two whole months into the New Year and I realized I didn't set milestones for the year. I do not make resolutions. My journey to be resolute is ongoing, but I will sing the song to welcome in the New Year.

I made the commitment to take Krav Maga. I am sure that this will be a great way for me to keep busy and break out of my comfort zone. After taking two classes this week, I will remain on the two classes a week, in addition to my regular bootcamp and crosskick classes. I am not in it for the belt ranking or to be a bad ass. I am doing this because I would like to know that I could defend myself and my family, especially the little ones, if we are ever alone or in a terrible situation. The objective of learning this is not to engage, but to get away safely.

Item # 404: Love yourself enough to invest time for improvement.

I love your guts!

Holidays are here. Why are we in a HURRY?

Jeff holding Madison at her Christmas

party with her 1st grade class.

Christmas is less than a week away. My kids are officially out for the "Winter Break". They are stoked and ready for Santa to arrive. They have been plotting on how they are going to stay up late so they can see him come down the chimney.

This break will be nice. We will get plenty of quality family time together. The kids will play with their friends, ride bikes, share stories about their days, use their imagination and play like the day will never end. These are the memories I want them to hold close to their heart. I still remember being excited about Christmas as a little kid and see it through their eyes every year now.

Life goes fast but in the grand scheme of things, it is but a blip in our family history. When we reach a certain age, life goes faster. I hope this message reaches you and reminds you to stop and savor the moment. Whether it is eating a meal, remember to truly taste the flavors and admire the time and effort that went into the preparation. Give thanks to others for the little things. And look up into the sky and know that we are a tiny spec in this larger universe. 

Today, I am asking you to slow down and savor the moment. Lock it into your memory. Recall it for a time when you find yourself exhausted. Put perspective into your life and you will reflect what you want to attract.

Item #1212 Hug tightly to those that mean something to you. Smile at strangers to encourage them to smile back. Be good. Do good.

I love your guts!

9/11

Growing up, I never knew anything about how devastating it was to lose a beloved leader, JFK. I did not know the tension of Vietnam war or first hand experience of Civil Rights movement. People older than me impacted by these named events told me that in my lifetime I would never know anything that would rock me to my core like these events. I felt lucky that I did not and would know of these events from those who witness or experienced them first hand. 

Fast forward from the mid-eighties to Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001. I had an early morning doctor appointment downtown Austin to do lab work at my gynecologist's office. My husband had taken our son to elementary school that morning and took off to work. I was coming out of the lab into the waiting room and heard some of the ladies behind the desk rustling around with nervousness. I did not know what they heard on the radio. I walked out and got into my car to drive to the office, thirty minutes away. I always had my radio on and had the volume down that morning. I usually listened to music but there was no music. I heard DJs talking and thought to myself, 'Be quiet and play music'. When I turned it up, the DJ said they had breaking news. First thing that came to mind was a traffic jam or terrible wreck. Little did I know that they were about to tell me news that was utterly unbelievable. Simply stated was all they know is that a plane hit a building in New York City. I heard the nervousness in their voice and it was weird. The closer I got to the office, the more they began to describe what they knew and saw on cable television. When they said this at first, all I thought was that a commuter plane lost sense of direction because of visibility, because all I knew about downtown NYC is that it was near the water. Since it was an early September morning, I had rationalized what happened and not sure why this would be breaking news. I was a few exits away from work and they said, "America is under attack. A commercial airplane was flown into the World Trade Center." Hearing this statement burned into my mind and my heart sank. I immediately got my phone and called my husband to know if he heard the same thing. When I got through to him, he said yes. I trembled and was terrified to hear this news and did not know what I should do knowing this information. He said, go to the office and stay there. I immediately thought about the safety of our son. Again, my husband assured me that he was safe at school. 

Finally, I pulled into the office parking lot and immediately asked people if they heard the news. Nobody knew what I was talking about. We went on the Internet and found NO NEWS. I kept going around asking if anyone knew this was happening. I went to my director and other leaders I knew in the office. They said to go to our conference room and turn on the cable television. I rallied my co-workers to gather around the television and watch the news. As we watched, everyone was paralyzed with disbelief. Then, the second plane hit the second tower. I screamed! The air left the room and we could not believe what we were seeing. I began crying and called the elementary school to check on my child. They were on lock down and said kids were going to be sent home on time. Since my child was a car rider, I wanted to go get him. Hug him and burrow in our home. I left the office. Got my child. Took him home and explained what I knew. He had always been a curious child and we had complete transparency to the truth. He wasn't as engaged and wanted to read his books. I understand that he did not get the event, but he was living through history.

Tomorrow morning, I will hold my breath and pray for those impacted by this horrific event in our country's history. I will probably do this every year until I can no longer breathe. I have done this since 2002. 

Today, I hold life, family and friends close. I am blessed every day that I wake up and my feet hit the ground. 

I love your guts.