Yesterday I received an email asking me to be on the Dave Ramsey Show to share my story. I was so excited! They asked me to be ready at 2 pm today to go live on the air. I tried not to think about it last night, which ended up being pretty easy with six kids, laundry, dinner, a swim with friends to celebrate the last week of summer, and a deadline for something I am writing.
When the house finally settled down and all was quiet, the thoughts of doing the show quickly came to mind. I shared my life every morning on the radio when I was hosting the morning show. I opened my home, not once but twice on a reality show. I love public speaking and I blog and write about my life. Why was I nervous about sharing my story on Dave’s show?
Right before I went on the show I felt this calming peace. I thought about what I want for my children. I want them to learn that every day you have to do something to make your life better even when it feels so hopeless. My life fell apart, over an 18 month period I got divorced, the kids and I watched the most wonderful person in our lives die from cancer, we lost our home, and I had to start working after being at home for 12 years. I came to a crossroads in my life and I had to make a choice. I could either turn the ashes of our past life into a passion for a new, better one or fall to the ground, give up, and accept that this was how life was going to be. I decided to find my passion and create a new life.
I can honestly say that there were days when I would wake up on the couch that was now my bed in our tiny rental and think I don’t know how I will be strong enough to get through today. So I stopped thinking about facing the entire day, and decided during those moments when facing the day was too overwhelming, I would tell myself to just get through 10 minutes at a time.
And that is what I did. I have kept a journal for the past three years and my children will someday be able to read them and know about our journey. Sometimes I flip through some of the old journals and smile when I see that on somedays I would literally write to myself every ten minutes saying I had made it. Gradually I got to where I could go a little bit longer, 10 minutes became 10 hours. 10 hours became a day. If someone told me when I was younger that I would have lived through all of this I would have said I would never be strong enough But having lived it I know that I am much stronger than I ever imagined. I think we all are stronger than we think. We just need to believe and encourage each other.
As we were live on the air and finishing the show, Dave Ramsey called me inspiring and a rock star. I was beaming and smiling from ear to ear. As soon as I was done my phone rang and it was my daughter. She wanted to know what was for dinner. Back to reality and who I am….a mom, a chef, a referee, a nurse. A person with a story…making it 10 minutes at a time…and hoping that I can help someone else along the way.
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