Sunday, March 14, 2010

what a day! with daylight savings time in effect, i was up early to attend a "women's health conference"http://www.womenandfamilylifecenter.org/index.html in mystic, ct....i would be meeting friends at the breakfast to kick off the day. after wind and rain all night, the day was gloomy.
another sunroof weather report!

on days like this, days for me to call my own, i'm always excited in the planning stages.  when it's time to walk out the door, i seem to have a pang...sorry to be leaving my family. everyday matters....time with family...time with biff...time with the kids...time.  life is precious....family is precious!  everyday is filled with possibilities.

then there's the old oxygen mask theory...biff always reminds me of that when life feels too chaotic and i feel tugged in every direction....a feeling he knows all too well.  on an airplane, if the plane is going down, the most important moment is when the oxygen masks pop out from above....the flight attendant always tells us to take the oxygen first and then help others. most important is for us to grab the mask immediately, THEN take care of the others.

so, today was a day for my oxygen mask.  i was up early...despite daylight savings exhaustion....different than the random exhaustion every mom feels each day....and before i walked out the door, i made a cup of coffee to  go!

rain, rain and more rain.  i passed emergency crews repairing electric lines, police cars pulled over with cars post accident and the steady flow of cars on i95.  as i drank my coffee to fuel myself up for my day, i listened a favorite radio program, senator bill bradley's "american voices"....a group of inspirational stories...a nice way to start my day.http://www.billbradley.com/amvoices/about

i drove further. my timing was looking good...almost  great!  and THEN....right before my eyes, the car about 3-4 car lengths in front of me began to swerve towards the left and he steered into his skid and he swerved over to the right lane....as he moved right, his shiny black car began to spin around, skid sideways and come to a stop on the right shoulder, miraculously facing the original direction!

i drove behind that car...not so far behind that car....i watched it veer off to the left and swerve to the right and i slowed watching the black car ....i was chanting to myself....pleeeeeeeeeeez...pleeeeeeeeeeez...this cannot happen..this cannot happen. this CANNOT HAPPEN!

and it didn't!  and it didn't happen to the silver car behind me!  saved by angels....that's all that i can say.  at the moment, i realized that i was safe and i just had to pull over to be grateful and to breathe!

still with time to spare, i continued up to mystic.  biff and i discussed where the mystic marriott was located....we discussed my timing...we discussed parking....i parked...ran through puddles/lakes...in the rain and got in the door...with my traveler coffee cup...there was coffee and milk at the entrance...i filled up.  i dashed over to the front desk.  i said, "women's health conference?"  the gentleman looked puzzled.
he looked confused and said, "sailing.  we have a sailing conference...i looked at him and said,"marriott women's conference 8a.m."

that's when he looked relieved and said,"oh...this is the hilton! the marriott is 2 exits south of here." and off i drove with my hilton cup of coffee!  back on i95 south for 2 exits...i had driven right past the exit because biff and i had assumed the hotel that we stopped at so many times was a marriott!

i arrived thinking i had missed the breakfast....when i asked about the conference, it became clear that i was early for the breakfast!

that was all before 8:30 a.m.!  and then the awesome conference began!  women, women, women...all inspiring, all empowering and all there to boost each other!  that's not something we see everyday.

i feel very blessed to have friends who are supportive and have been supportive throughout my life!  going to a women's college filled me with the gift of women supporting women!  strength in numbers!  there's an energy in the air!  tenacious women, intelligent women. spirited women, creative women, healthy women, older women, younger women.....all with so much to share!

sharing...giving....energizing!  it was an incredible experience. laughter. caring. talking. listening. eating. thinking....new thoughts.  learning...sharing new goals.
a big boost as we move on to spring...a common theme seemed to be "spring cleaning"....not dusting and vacuuming....thinking and clearing out old, useless thinking, people, behaviors....thinking and consciously choosing to be authentic.  doing what we feel we have to do....HAVE to do it because our hearts tell us so.

we listened to some awesome speakers. amy bloom, a wonderful writer with absolutely sensational stage presence, sharing her wit and fabulous family stories, taking questions and answering candidly. amy bloom teaches creative writing at yale.  i can't wait to sink my teeth into one of her books.
an author,deborah copaken kogan, spoke saturday night at the dinner.  i did not go to the evening events...although my good friend invited me to share a room with her mom and sister.  i considered the gracious invitation but i just knew that i was loving that cozy, rainy day saturday with family. women really enjoyed her!  her book looks hysterical!
http://www.deborahcopakenkogan.com/hell_is_other_parents_76473.htm 
we broke into sessions.... wonderful sessions....some women had massage, reiki, tai chi, pilates, women and finance, listening to your heart, authenticity 
beverly sastri spoke and filled the room with energy and empowered women to reach their dreams and goals. she was so filled with enthusiasm and spoke so well!  we all loved her talk and we enjoyed visualizations and had our own work to do...setting goals...clear goals.  listening to the signs that our bodies give us!  a common theme for me!  i do try.  do you? http://www.beverlysastri.com/about.htm

i have these links available and hope you'll have some inspirational moments as well.

i'm still tired and have made a pact with myself to get some more sleep! good night!


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