Long time no email from me, right? I'm so sorry about that.
Sometimes when life gets crazy, you have to cut back to the essentials and just breathe.
As much as I love you being on my list, doing this newsletter was one too many things for me for a while.
2017 has brought all sorts of surprises. Some amazing; others, not so good.
I'll start with the not good...
My sister, Debbi, was diagnosed with stage four gallbladder cancer in March, after an emergency gallbladder surgery. At the time they did her surgery, the cancer had already spread to her liver. She passed away on June 24, just two months before her 42nd birthday.
Which actually leads me to the good things that happened this year...
When my sister was diagnosed, a friend told me to spend as much time with her as I could, because you can't ever get that time back. I took her advice seriously and rearranged my schedule so that I could see my sister twice a week. She lived with my parents about an hour south of me. That meant two hours of driving twice a week. Amazingly, with a little extra self-care (and yes, some pain medication) I was able to do that drive for three months without putting myself into a fibromyalgia flare.
In addition to those two days a week, we also arranged a week-long family vacation at the beach, and a week-long Alaska cruise. Debbi wanted to go on one more cruise, and she died less than a week from when we got home.
If you don't have a career that allows you the flexibility to be with who you love when you need to be, let's talk. I have been moved to tears often with the gratitude that I have complete control over my schedule and have zero regrets about my sister's last three months. As my friend said, you don't get that time back.
2016 also brought other good things with it...
15 Fibromyalgia Coaches and Advisors graduated from the International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute in 2016, a training and certification institute I founded in the fall of 2015. You can read about the
January and
August graduates on my blog. Our next class will graduate in January 2017.
I also spoke as part of the Fibromyalgia Summit and will be featured as part of
The Balanced Life Intensive that starts tomorrow. (
See below for more details.)
Last, but not least,
I just submitted the manuscript for my second book to my publisher for editing last week. The working title is
The Fibromyalgia Coach: Feel Better, Change Lives, Find Your Best Job Ever. My new book will be published on February 9, 2017, but you can read it early by joining my book launch team. Just reply to this email and let me know you want to help.
The Fibromyalgia Coach is all about finding fibromyalgia-friendly work that is fulfilling and helps you heal. The eight key questions in this book will help you evaluate any career option to see if it meets your mental, physical, social, and success needs.
As you can see, I've had a lot going on in 2016! I apologize for not saying hello more often. If you've known me for any length of time at all, you know that the most important thing for me is taking care of yourself and your needs FIRST. Which has meant skipping this newsletter for a bit. I hope to get back into a regular rhythm soon.
Enjoy some
Hope & Healing
this month! And remember, when life gets crazy, like it often does this time of year, just breathe. <3