You can't be scared of who you are

Ok, so I'm super addicted to the Biggest Loser. And I eat peanut butter sandwiches with cheese on them. I still hold some secrets.

One of the last episodes highlighted a woman named Abby who had lost her husband, daughter and baby son in a car accident.

               What do you even say.

It got me thinking about inspiration. According to the show, Abby has gone on to become a motivational speaker ~ and she certainly has a story to tell about overcoming the greatest of odds. It totally made me cry and applaud the unfathomable strength of humans, and (sorry guys), especially women.

When I was diagnosed with MS back on May 4, 2001, suffice it to say it was not the best day. I came home freaked, my two beautiful girls were scared and confused, and very unlike us, we all started yelling at each other, peeing in our corners, and crying. Anna went home to my ex husband Ken's house, Liza and I squared off, and the night finally ended.

The next morning, as I was planning my pity party in my head (I'd just been diagnosed with MS for god's sake! What does one wear? What does one drink? Gin perhaps might be fitting...) I met Liza in the kitchen as she was getting ready for school. She was 13 years old, and had been diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic for 4 years. I looked at her and asked her, flat out, how she coped everyday with a chronic, degenerative disease that was not going to get better (at best) and make her further disabled and kill her (at worst). I'd been diagnosed for 6 hours ~ drama came easy.


I asked her, "Aren't you scared? Everyday?".  Now my friend Sue used to call my daughter Elizabeth Taylor with bad teeth (because she has this beautiful chestnut hair and violet eyes; but she was also like a shark, she had over 22 teeth pulled out of her mouth, they just kept growing back all crowded and crooked ~ thankfully she doesn't bite). So she looks right at me with these big, beautiful, long lashed, incredible purple eyes and says "No mom. It's just a part of who you are, and you can't be scared of who you are."

Bing! Pop! From the mouths of babes. It was the best (and only) advice I've ever heeded when it comes to facing my MS.  I never have gotten to have a pity party. That's ok though, I don't even drink gin. One more secret exposed. : - )