But before starting my holidays I want to share the best Christmas & birthday present ever. (Amy’s is December 23^rd and mine is December 25^th). Last night Amy and I flew home from Victoria, BC where Amy underwent a heart procedure (ablation) for an arrhythmia she has had since she was 6 months old.

I have lost track of the number of times that Amy would walk into our bedroom in the middle of the night and quietly say…”Mom, my heart”. My own heart would drop into my stomach. Off we went to Emergency where they would stabilize her heart rhythm and pray that it wouldn’t happen again. Despite beta-blockers, the episodes continued.

Amy has undergone 3 previous ablations with minimal success. Well I am happy to say that for the first time in 26 years, the surgeons walked into the recovery room with a smile on their face and the first words out of their mouth were…”WE GOT IT!” They said it was in a rare place and they were lucky to find it. You can only imagine how many times I have replayed that scene in my head.

So I wanted to share this fabulous news and I also want to wish every one of you a happy and restful (it’s possible) holiday!

PS. A HUGE thank you to Dr. Sterns (and his team) in the Cardiac Unit at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC.

Why am I telling you this? Because I took one of the biggest steps out of my comfort zone this past spring when I signed up to be part of an Overcomers project. Thirty-eight authors submitted a story about an event they overcame in their life. Overcomers Inc.-true stories of hope, courage and inspiration is the brain child of Lynne Klippel. She was looking for an uplifting book to help her brother during his ’down’ times while he was undergoing chemotherapy. She thought it would be wonderful to have a collection of stories from ordinary people who have faced challenging times in their life and have come through them with courage, strength and wisdom. Lynne wanted this book to help more people, than just her brother.

Writing a chapter for this book is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I had to put aside my ego and fears (ongoing process!) to publicly write and be willing to ‘let go’ of my insecurities. I have a story to tell about the lessons I am learning from living with my husband’s dementia; I desparately want to share them with others.

I am very proud to be a contributing author to this incredible book. At a time when we are bombarded with bad news–whether it is about the economy or the latest flu virus–this book is going to be the lifesaver for thousands of people. You will find 38 different stories–all of them uplifting, inspiring and giving you hope that you can overcome whatever challenge you are facing in your life.

To give you a sample of one of the stories, here is an excerpt from a very good friend of mine, Barbara McCollough:

When Grace Comes to Get You               
Barbara McCollough  

How can I explain this moment when inspiration broke through in the form of the poem and led me from paralysis into action?

I can’t. Or not in ways the linear mind can report. A teacher once told me that the path to a fulfilling life was like the flight of a two winged bird: one wing was self-effort and the other grace. Without both, a bird won’t fly and neither will our lives. Dogged adherence to effort can take you right into a place you don’t even want to go, yet simply waiting for inspiration without accompanying action leads to paralysis (insightful paralysis perhaps, but still paralysis). It is the true partnership of self-effort and grace—inspired action – that is the secret to success. 

If I were to frame my experience as overcoming an obstacle, perhaps what I overcame was a tendency to let my ego do the driving. I opened myself to that mysterious other force that we all know and describe in our own unique way, that we can never control, but we can always depend upon.

On your path to fulfillment, you don’t have to row upstream, and you don’t have to get in the boat alone

This morning, I was having writer’s block, wondering which story to share with you today, so I laced up my running shoes, and went for a run to clear my mind.

It isn’t long before I am feeling my body and mind relaxing– bald eagles flying overhead, chipmunks with flag-like tails, scampering across the road, and mule deer causing mini rock slides, scrambling up the bank. I am feeling free and peaceful, when all of a sudden a snake slithers in the tall grasses beside me. I suddenly feel shivers-not because I am deathly afraid of snakes, but I am recognizing the ‘whisper’ for my post today.

This snake, quickly hiding in the bushes, is very different from his cousin, I saw about 5 minutes ago. His green and yellow-striped relative was lying peacefully in the middle of the road, basking in the glorious heat of the day; it didn’t matter that I might step on him, or a truck could flatten him in an instant.

Thinking about the difference between the snakes reminds me of how Dave is choosing to deal with his dementia. I am grateful that Dave is not ashamed or angry over his diagnosis, and that he has this amazing ability to soak up life, despite his challenges. He understands his driving privileges will be taken away soon, yet he appreciates the independence, for now. Every time he drives to town, he knows that he won’t recognize most of the people who say hi to him; or that it takes him longer to find items in the grocery store.

Dave is teaching me the meaning of courage, but more importantly, he is showing me how extraordinary life is when I live from a place of honesty and authenticity. Even though Dave isn’t the same person he was a few years ago, he doesn’t worry about what people might say or think about him. I have spent 55 years living according to ‘shoulds’ and taking on other people’s rules and beliefs. I have to tell you, it is extremely liberating to be finally peeling away some of these false layers. I will not fool you… I still have work to do before I reach Dave’s level, but I am grateful for him showing me the way.

As Dave and I journey along this unfamiliar road with dementia, I am hoping that our stories and lessons will encourage people hiding at home, ashamed of being less than their ‘perfect’ self, to leave their safe shelter, and begin shining their own light again. All of us have unparalleled beauty, regardless of our physical, emotional or mental state, that we should be sharing with the world. Dave is a wonderful example.