I often say if I didn’t document my life, I would forget it. Not that it’s forgettable, but rather things move so quickly and my days seem so extreme that it’s all a blur sometimes. I love my life—challenges and all—and this week was yet another full of adventure.
Sunday morning started normally enough, getting my bookends to Church School (my 11-year old Molly was a teacher’s assistant and my two-year old Delaney was a student), caring for Ellie and saying good-bye to my husband Brad and our nine-year old son Gavin as they set out for a day of sports. Then I raced off to Manhattan, where things got interesting.
Sunday night I dined at Michael Jordan’s restaurant in Grand Central Station, having a terrific meal and having the most engaging conversations with other Count Me In women entrepreneurs. All of a sudden, the station went wild with clapping down below. Looking down from the balcony, it was obvious a marriage proposal had just taken place (and she had said yes). How cool is that? It struck me how completely different that was from my usual dinner experience.
So why was I in NY, you ask? I was one of 18 women entrepreneurs invited to pitch our businesses thanks to Ariela Balk of Smart & Sexy to help get us ready for retail in big box stores. It had been a busy week leading up to this event and initially I wasn’t sure if I ought to do it. I didn’t think my business was “ready” yet and logistically, I knew coordinating my home schedule would be challenging. In the end, I was so glad that Nell Merlino and Ginny Victory nudged me forward and I seized the opportunity. I needed the push forward, and the event was a welcome distraction from my personal life. “But you love your life”, I can hear you thinking. And I do. But my personal life is very different from my entrepreneurial life, and I really thrive on both sides.
You see my seven-year old daughter Ellie, who has special needs, is off from school for the first half of April. The days caring for her have been long, especially with sporadic help. On Monday, however, I was able to take some time for my business and me and lead my other life. I was surrounded by some very successful business people who were acting as “executive mentors” and chewed up our businesses like they do on Shark Tank. (Just kidding; they were actually super supportive and offered incredible feedback.) I also really appreciated the opportunity to be with the other entrepreneurs, all of us at various stages in our business.
After an intensive business day of learning, pitching and collaborating on Monday, I then returned back to my reality on Tuesday with my busy life: getting lunches made, kids off to school, laundry sorted, etc. After the kids were settled, I had a BIG orthopedics appointment with Ellie, where I learned that she will indeed need yet another tough surgery on her hips, which will take place in May and be followed by six weeks in a spica (body) cast and two weeks of inpatient rehab. We also had a cardiology appointment Wednesday which went well, a neurology appointment today which was a follow-up from a brain MRI for seizure disorder, and a CAT scan to garner more information for the upcoming hip surgery. To say it has been a busy week medically is an understatement. Besides the above, the other mom-like duties of practices, games and homework were thrown in the mix. Fortunately, I have the most amazing team at Baby Be Hip that can hold down the fort when I am not there. Next week I look forward to getting back to “normal” so I can be back at work a little more.
As I waited in the orthopedics office for Dr. Flynn on Tuesday, I looked up and saw that I was indeed in the same room I always seem to be in. In that office there is a sign that says “PERSISTENCE, there is no GIANT step that does it. It’s a lot of LITTLE steps.” I think they know I need this sign for encouragement because orthopedics has been a challenge of ours with Ellie since day one. The saying reminds me to keep going both in my business and in my life despite the daily challenges.
Often times I want to achieve things now and fix problems with a snap of my finger, but that is not my reality. I was reminded yet again to surround myself with the best folks depending on my situation and I feel I am doing that. I am surrounded by the most amazing business friends and supporters who recognize my challenges yet continue to believe in me, as well as the best doctors in the country at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The sign reminded me at the doctor’s appointment—and I was reminded by successful businesspeople on Monday—that the key to success is to incrementalism. I will keep taking baby steps forward and keeping my life in perspective.
I do love the variety and exposure of my days. I often think if I didn’t have my amazing customers, friends, family and business that I would lose my mind. So thank you all for supporting me in so many ways. You mean the world to me!!
