Let Your Light Shine
New Year…New Rollercoaster Ride
Happy New year to you and yours. I am not one for New Year’s resolutions. After all, with the attention span of a squirrel, it seems senseless. I am one for a moment to reflect and to reflect on how thankful I am to simply be alive.
Book signing in Duluth-MN
I have lived in Duluth or Hermantown for 30 years and I am excited to have a book signing at Skyline Social & Games on Sat. Nov 27. I have shared the past 30 years in a hockey community, while serving seniors as a nursing home administrator or CEO for assisted livings settings.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
I knew 1 in 8 were diagnosed with breast cancer, but this meant other people. Until I, too, became the 1 in 8. I was six months late for my mammogram, and those who know me will not find this shocking. So, I write this to remind women to get their mammograms.
One Day at a Time
When you are facing trauma or a new diagnosis, time truly stops. Somedays you wish it would. You may feel like a walking zombie, and that is ok. Many days, I felt like I could be a star for the “Walking Dead”. Well, I was no star, just a 48 year old mom moving through life the best she could.
We all have Scars
The Scars You Can’t See….seemed like a perfect title for the book. After all, I knew I would have physical scars and I expected that. I didn’t think about the scars that would be inside me. The scars in my mind that required emotional, and spiritual healing to make me whole again.
How Cancer Impacts the Family
I was diagnosed, but our whole family was affected. My husband, sons, parents, siblings and family/friends were all worried and playing a role in small and big ways. Life had to move on, and in the moments when I felt like it truly stopped, everyone pressed on.
While Healing …
Healing seems so basic, and I have learned it takes time. Once the surgeries and the complications ended my physical healing started. Then a few years later my emotional healing started and I didn’t really understand that my mind was not at the same place as my body for healing.
Celebrating Every Birthday
When you realize you slid by the edge of death a few times, you realize that you will NEVER complain about getting older. Sometimes, I would wonder why it would be important to celebrate 40 or 50 something. Now, there will never be a birthday I don’t celebrate.
On Juggling
I remember a boss of mine telling me that I had to juggle faster when the list gone longer each week. As a high functioning adult with ADD, I felt I was pretty good at juggling.
When Nothing is Normal
I look at this photo and laugh now. My mom is busy painting the house, and I have the drainage bags wrapped around my neck as a make shift necklace. I removed the tarnished cross from the silver hoop necklace and decided I needed a place to put these drainage bags so they were not around my waist all day!
For the Love of Laughter
Is there anything better than laughing? When you are diagnosed, one would think there is no reason to laugh anymore. You need to laugh more than ever now. Now is the time to find humor in yourself.
The Importance of Friends
I have been blessed with amazing friends in my life. As a sibling with no sisters, my brothers are even some of my best friends and always have been. All three Wyatt kids “love to talk”, so visiting with my brothers has never been a problem even when we are all three in different states. I love to call, and hear their laugh and banter.
Letting Go
The “C” word is etched in your brain when you hear the word cancer. After diagnosis, and multiple surgeries the reality set in of letting go of a word. This “C” word had negative associations which I needed to eradicate from my vocabulary in order to begin healing.
Your Health Comes First
Born to be a caregiver? If you are like me, you may have great joy from helping others. While helping others is a gift we strive to give others, we must remember to give this gift to ourselves. How do we take care of ourself? What does that mean?
Redefining Yourself
Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.