I am sitting here on mother’s day contemplating on which direction this blog post should go. As this is my first official blog post there are so many ways in which to start. But one thought keeps coming back to me. My Mom. So I think this is where I will begin, where Mindy got her stripes. To know me and where I am going on this blog journey is only fitting to know where I came from and that usually starts with who raised and nurtured us. So here goes – Mindy’s stripes:

I come from a lineage of very strong women. My grandmother and aunts ran the roost and basically, the men followed suit. My mother and her two sisters grew up with role models who got the family through the depression and every situation before and after. My mother was the strongest, smartest, bravest woman I ever knew. She was a mentor and leader in every aspect of her professional life. I watched her birth a baby in one hand while directing a staff meeting in another while organizing a bridge party with another. My mom mysteriously had many hands working at once. My mother’s work ethic was unprecedented and endless. She found the time and energy for everyone. She amazed me and I was so proud that she was my mom.

As I grew older I had found that I had inherited the same work ethic as my mom. I was a nonstop human game boy (actually game girl) I was at my best when I was leading the group, creating a plan, captaining the ship.

But as I grew older and gaining insight I was also noticing a back story to my mom. You know that with every book cover there are lots of pages inside that create the entire story. As a child, we see the shell and as we grow we see the nuance. My mother’s nuance wasn’t so bright. My parent’s life together wasn’t as I had thought and as I grew I came to realize that my mom’s ability to be amazing at her profession was also to fill a void within her personal life.

My father had an ego that needed stroking and while my mom was out there in the workforce succeeding my dad was looking elsewhere for validation. There were many infidelities that my mom put up with and many times when family meant keeping up a good front for when the outside world looked in.

My mom died of pancreatic cancer at the early age of 69. Before that, she had endured Hodgkin’s disease bells palsy, skin cancers, high blood pressure, lymph node issues, acid reflux and a myriad of other ailments. To the outside world my mom was an unstoppable force but looking IN my mother was a mess. Her stress of having to “keep it all together” contributed to her premature death.

When my mom died I made a vow to myself and to my husband. My vow – I am not going to live a life where I hold anything back or anything in.I learned valuable lessons from my mom. Most of what to do and some of what not to do. She was so much to so many but in doing so she shortened her life and that wasn’t fair to the rest of us. In trying to protect us from her unpleasantries she stripped us of her time with us.

So world, what you see is what you get. I am choosing to live my life as openly as I can – open book style. If you have ever met me then you can say you know me. I

So I end this first blog with “Look out because I am not holding anything back” Blogs are written for many reasons. To teach, to humor, to ponder. I am writing my blog to Challenge. I am not going to hold anything back and I am may rock the boat. My mom taught me to be a leader. But she also taught me what not to do – to hold in the tough stuff. We are here on this earth to help and to heal. Not to hurt or harbor. My pledge is to be authentic, open, and honest.

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