#YOLO

My October 13th Twitter feed uncovered a memoir contest to be judged by Cheryl Strayed. I had contemplated publishing my unique story of resilience for years, yet lacked the gumption and time to begin with a busy career and four children. Surely a sign, I thought to myself, having recently completed Cheryl's book 'Wild' with much adoration and appreciation for her mutual resilience.

Hemming and hawing all weekend with the October 31st memoir deadline rapidly approaching, I unwrapped a stick of minty fresh gum, popped it into my mouth and glanced at the wrapper. Voila!! It was as if the gods were personally addressing me with a wrapper unlocking the key to my fate on that sunny Monday morning, October 16th. Ultimately living a life with no regrets, this shiny green daring challenge was shouting at me, you only live once lady! #YOLO

Carpe diem! With nothing to lose and everything to gain, I undertook an enormous task for two weeks, pouring my heart and soul into the pages of my unpublished manuscript. Ideally a few more months would've saved me my sanity, however, a memoir about resilience presumes I never give up!

My children, a driving force in my recent authorship endeavor to preserve our family memories on 'virtual' paper, also compelled me to accomplish my goal. As a mother who has often sacrificed my immediate needs and goals for my children (who doesn't?), I quickly realized the awesome opportunity at hand to recognize a goal and demonstrate its achievement.

My 12-year-old son stated with profound awareness at the dinner table one evening, "Won't it be a waste if you don't win Mom?" Pleased by our newfound civility at the dinner table, thanks to my recent kitchen closure, I proudly claimed, "The fact that I try at all is a success! Perhaps I'll end up with the beginnings of a memoir worth continuing and find another publisher." Certainly it would be a failure to never try at all, I thought to myself.

I submitted the 124 page memoir entitled 'RESILIENCE: My recovery from tragedy, clandestine secrets & pain' an hour prior to trick-or-treating on Halloween. The activity, though not as cathartic as I had hoped, uncovered new life clarity through my thought processes, as I summoned courage in my struggle with vulnerability. Fearing I would offend individuals in sharing the truth, yet passionate about writing with the honesty and integrity I owed to myself, I persevered, figuring they should've behaved better anyway. A painstakingly butt-numbing process, the memoir became an exercise of devotion and purpose for me, in the hopes that others would relate and be inspired by my journey. Regardless, I simply became tired of talking about doing it!

Reflecting on my son's statement from dinner, yes, it would be awesome if I won, but far better to have tried and lost, than to have never tried at all! I thank my children and husband for supporting and inspiring me, and for a couple of friends (you know who you are) who pushed me to believe in myself. Cheers to completing a life goal and prioritizing myself, a true adventure in motherhood! We should all seize the day, one gum wrapper at a time. #YOLO