MY STORY

2020: Momentum Builds. 2021: My Moment Arrives!

Did you know that God has always got your back?

Let me tell you part of my story to tell you how I know. 

I am a stay-at-home-mom, retired lawyer, manning the fort at home with 3 teenagers under my roof. My husband is a lawyer too. His job requires long hours and induces high stress in him. I am used to being a taxi-mom, go-go-go, juggling multiple balls with overlapping schedules for kids and hubby and pouring myself into everyone else to make everyone in the family be able to go-go-go. My husband typically is gone for multiple hours at a time and travels for business monthly. And when he is home, he is tied up on the phone and computer meeting clients’ needs. That is how things usually go, but it was 2020, so it was anything, but usual.

Our go-go-go halted when the worldwide pandemic of Covid-19 hit Houston March 12, 2020. And where was God?

Maybe having a chuckle at the chaos that ensued. I mean, aren’t we here for our Lord’s amusement, at least? 😉

The Houston Rodeo was canceled for the first time in my life. Kids were sent home from school indefinitely. Suddenly we were winging it with online school and working from home. But there were good things too.

The go-go-go of our world became slow-slow-slow. At first, it seemed a luxury. Kids were here. The car stayed parked. Hubby worked from the porch. And I could breath. Everyone was outside in the beautiful sunny weather that March and April offer here in Houston. My family is not outdoorsy by nature. We couch potatoes were missing out. So we stood in line at various bike stores and got ourselves geared up to join our neighbors cycling on our neighborhood streets. In addition to biking, I went walking every day, and then of course developed plantar fasciitis as result. Ouch! I have got to think that that development put a smile on God’s face. I am glad to have been of use.

In May, my dad got Coronavirus, and that was touch-and-go for a while. It was challenging to face the mortality of my father. He was my world as a child. With Coronavirus, he spent 5 days in ICU. But God was good in that my father recovered. He had my back. I had to go into quarantine as a matter of precaution because I was with my father to take him to get tested for Covid-19. My departure left my children and husband without me for 2 weeks. It was a lonely time for me. Lots of Ozark bingeing and my husband and a few faithful friends and neighbors checking on me. Every day, I parented from afar. I did miss them, but I did not miss out on the building anxiety. That is a given in my household.

Each of us has our issues with anxiety, and the restrictions of Coronavirus as time advanced started to devastate my family. But God has had our back. Even though I was holed up across town separated out of necessity from my husband and children, daily I put out fires, lent an ear, attempted amateur counseling, and continued wearing my many hats as mom.

When my time of isolation ended, I gladly returned to our home and the new rhythm that life had to offer. Although a slower pace, now we were dealing with finding structure and how to fill so much empty time—time that would have otherwise been filled with camps, visits to friends’ houses, and visits with cousins and grandparents, and travel. In my downtime in June, I started spending more time on social media. Unbeknownst to me at the time, God had my back once again. One day on Facebook, I got an ad for the free The Lux Summit from Leah Darrow. I was not familiar with her, but I clicked on the link. It was a free conference for Catholic women held over Father’s Day Weekend. I figured I am Catholic, some of the topics sound interesting. I have time to fill. Why not?

So, I attended. I ended up joining the Lux Community, finding a fit for my growing desire for spiritual fulfillment. Now known as Lux Catholic, this was my first venture into an online community of women of faith. And it felt good. I learned, I made new friends, and felt connected in a time when so many connections were severed due to Covid.

At the Lux Summit, one of the best speakers that I heard was Lisa Canning, The Possibility Mom as she calls herself. She was fun and dynamic and talked about finding fulfillment as a mom, making time for yourself. I started following her on Instagram.

Well, guess what? In July, my whole family came down with Covid. (God had my back once again as we all recovered.) So when Lisa advertised a similar free “Possibility Mom Conference” at the end of July, I signed up. I had more free time than ever, being sick. Her line-up of speakers hit the mark for me. They were motivational and Lisa was a funky, spirited hostess. At the end of the event, she made an offer—a life coaching experience with her in a 6-month course called the “Art of Being a Women” Mastermind Class through The Woman School. And then, she sweetened it. Lisa invited the women who signed up by the end of the Conference an opportunity to visit her home in Florida for an in person reunion with her and the Ladies in the Mastermind after the perils of Coronavirus had passed. Now that sounded too good to be true.

Now, understand, I don’t like to spend money on myself. I am a bit of a cheapskate at times. Also, I feel guilty about it. But I have to tell you that extra incentive sealed it for me. You see, I have a reputation for starting things and not finishing them. I am full of good intentions, but weak on follow through. So I made a decision and a commitment to myself to follow through on this exercise to make the money that I spent on the class worth my while—because I am worth it. And I knew that because of the built-in accountability and the length of the class that I had a good chance of finally following through and making needed changes stick. And, guess what? God has continued to have my back.

And boy what a ride it has been! Lisa is an excellent mentor. She has a gift for taking your ideas and formulating them into an executable project. And she is there showing you how, holding you accountable along the way.

Here is where I now stand. From August 2020, to now early 2021, I have been climbing the mountain of self-improvement. The air is thinner up here with a measure of fear over where each next step leads. My pack is heavy from the knowledge that I have gained, but the view is spectacular. I stand on the precipice of the adventure of my lifetime. In 2021, I am a published author.

Poetry is my craft. It is a gift that I have received from God. Soon it is a gift that I shall share with my fellow human beings. Consider this your invitation to read and receive your gift. Thank you for your time and treasuring of my talent! I know that it is in good hands. God bless!

P.S. God, thanks for having my back! I look forward to paying You back by paying it forward.