I’m so glad that Lynda’s video inspired so many of you.  Isn’t she amazing?!  She is a wonderful representation of one of many beautiful, awesome stories from last year’s SOAR! applicants.  I have a feeling those stories are going to multiply with this year’s applicants.

We are in that “in between” moment for SOAR!’s new year.  Our team is putting on the final touches to a video so you can meet the new recipients.  We are all so excited for this next step to happen, and the new year to officially start!

In the meantime, I’d like to announce the Running on Empty for the upcoming Seattle CONFIDENCE Workshop.  This contest means so much to me because my heart knows what it’s like to feel as if you are running on empty while trying to do your best with what you’ve got as a mom.

There were more submissions than ever for the ROE contest.  Every entry was incredible to read–such amazing perseverance from so many women.  The panel of judges were, again, amazing.  The job is never easy, and we are so thankful for the heartfelt time. When they emailed me the winner, I cried.  Her story is heartbreaking, and if any mom deserves a break, a weekend of being filled up and given to, it’s this mom.  For Seattle, the Running on Empty winner is Claudia.  Her story was and is incredibly moving.  I can’t read it without crying as I hear the heartache in her words.  I have copied Claudia’s story below so you can welcome her in today’s comments.  This is a woman that defines the word Courage.  Claudia, Brian and I welcome you to the Seattle CONFIDENCE Workshop.  We hear that you are flying in from CHICAGO!  Wow!  And that’s not all, a big thanks to Sue Christianson, one of our SOAR! Applicants from last year.  Sue has graciously offered to open her home to Claudia for the weekend.  Have I said how much I LOVE this community?!!  To read Claudia’s moving story, see the p.s.  You can also see a more intimate view of her story here.

So much to talk about in the coming weeks, like a recap on our first CONFIDENCE Workshop of the year!  Brian and I had a moving, powerful weekend with the OC/LA CONFIDENCE Workshop this last weekend.  If this first workshop for 2011 is an indication of what the rest of this year will be…we are off to an amazing start.

In our “in between” time, we had the opportunity to catch up with family in Ventura, CA.  The cousins played on the beach every day while mom and dad went to teach the workshop.

As we fly home we are already missing them but so thankful for the magical window of time we shared.  (love you Carm, Gregg, Zoe and Jude)

xoxo,

m

Claudia Constantino says:

With the sincerest humility and gratitude, I respectfully nominate myself to attend the Seattle Confidence workshop. 2010 was the most difficult, painful year of my life. In 2011, I hope to pick up the pieces and find happiness again. If I were chosen to attend the conference, it would give me the opportunity to reconnect with one of my greatest passions, photography. I fell in love with photography when my children were born. I was blessed with two beautiful daughters, Lindsey (born in 2004) and Ashley (born in 2006). I loved having my children photographed often. I felt like each photograph captured a fleeting moment. Through photographs I felt I could capture moments, smiles, and memories that might otherwise be forgotten. In connecting with other photographers, I quickly became interested in studying photography. Sadly the events that were to follow over the coming years would prevent me from pursuing that interest. Shortly after her second birthday, my daughter Ashley was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of pediatric cancer. Our lives changed dramatically in an instant. We were given the option to not pursue treatment because her prognosis was so poor. She had a less than 5% chance of surviving this rare and aggressive cancer. Weeks before we had been celebrating her birthday in Disney World, and here we were being told that her time with us would likely be brief. I remember wanting to scoop her up in my arms and run out of the hospital and get on the next plane back to Disney to make as many lasting memories as possible. She was immediately scheduled for surgery. The tumor was wrapped around her spinal cord and was invading her lung cavity in such a way that the threat of paralysis was imminent. Within days of this surgery she began a rigorous treatment protocol that involved multiple surgeries, 18 months of chemotherapy, 3 months of radiation, countless visits to the ER, every major holiday spent in the hospital and countless hospitalizations. Throughout her treatment we probably spent 100 nights at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago all the while spending time apart from my husband and 5 year old daughter Lindsey. I always did my best to be strong and put on a brave face but the moment someone asked me how Lindsey was doing I would burst into tears and my heart would break. I was always felt so torn and wished I could clone myself and be with both daughters at the same time. If I was in the hospital with Ashley, I felt like I was missing huge moments in Lindsey’s life. For nearly 18 months I felt like I was living through hell on earth, like my family was being torn apart, but yet Ashley kept me strong. Ashley gave me courage. She went through all her treatments with a smile on her face. When she was going through radiation she’d wake up at 4am giggling and smiling before our hour long drive to the hospital each day. If she needed an IV she’d sweetly extended her arm for the nurse. If she required medication by mouth, she’d swallow it down and simply ask for some juice. She smiled as the nurses connected her “tubbies” (access to her port) to the pump that would administer her chemo. She smiled as she woke up from each surgery. Her doctors came to me and said “Ashley is a miracle. She’s handling the most aggressive treatments and we believe she will beat this.” We had let our hearts believe that everything would be okay, but our worst fears were realized just days before Thanksgiving (2009) when her oncologists said her tumors had returned and we were out of treatment options. This is every cancer mom’s worst nightmare. Treatment itself is hell, but you go through it all in hopes of ridding your child of this horrible disease. On February 5, 2010, my sweet girl lost her battle to cancer. She died in our home in my arms. My heart will forever be broken. We go through each day with a huge gaping hole in our hearts. My older daughter Lindsey who is now 6 misses her little sister terribly. She knows more about cancer than any child should ever have to know. I want to continue to be the best mother I can be to Lindsey and I want to capture and document every special moment of her life. We recently had a mini-getaway over the holidays and Lindsey borrowed my camera the entire trip. I loved seeing her excitement and passion for photography. It warmed my heart greatly when she said she wants to be a photographer when she grows up. I love that we share that passion and that bond. It seemed like my camera was collecting dust for those 2 years when our lives were lived out of a suitcase going back and forth to the hospital. In 2011, I’m hoping to reconnect with myself again and I truly believe that attending your Confidence Workshop would help me do so. Thank you for taking the time to read my entry.