What’s Your Story?

With the survival of the past few weeks...I can move on with other things!

To summarize, I lived through the Gala, packed up my office for a temporary home, got water damage in my apartment, worked around the stacked boxes and chaos at home in my space, met with AARP to get my taxes done (NOT GOOD!) and got confirmation from my medical doctor and my counselor that I DO NOT NEED ANTI-DEPRESSANTS!!   So, can we all celebrate the small milestones???   Woo Hoo!

Yesterday, I was in Louisville for an engagement party celebrating the daughter of good friends.  It was a lovely evening, despite the torrential rain.    Earlier in the day, I stepped out of my comfort zone and attended a "Story Telling Workshop" presented by Double Edged Stories.  This workshop was presented by two storytellers and wow...did I learn a lot!

Most of you know, I have some pretty good stories!  (If I say so myself!)  I've often thought about writing my own book..."You Can't Make This S### Up!"  My family, my jobs and my circumstance in life have provided me with lots of material for my stories.

A dear friend and her husband told me about this storytelling thing at a brewery in Louisville. They thought I'd be a great candidate for the stage there so they invited me to check it out.   Over Valentine's weekend, I attended an event with four couples sharing their stories.   It was fun, it was sad, and it was amazing how captivated I was by these stories.  I loved how the audience was so supportive and there was something to be said about enjoying a regular person’s story in the midst of a crazy world. 

At the end of the evening, they were promoting their upcoming Story Telling Workshop and I signed up for information.   It just so happened to be scheduled on the same day that I was going to be in town for the party so I decided to do it.   I didn't know anyone who was going, I was sure I would be the oldest one there, and I had no idea exactly what I had hoped to accomplish, but I decided to take the plunge to see if I was good enough to be a real story-teller.

The room had about 10 students…a young man with cerebral palsy, a couple of women in my age range…one a physical comedian (more crazy physical antics—think circus clown) and the other looked to be semi-retired, long haired, free spirited author, a couple of younger women…both a little timid, and three Santa types…(pictured below).   And so it began!

At the workshop, we had the opportunity to share some of our stories.   There were three possible themes for your story to fit into...Bamboozled, Showers, and Flowers.   I chose Bamboozled...this is how I feel about my divorce situation...I was totally bamboozled!  However, I realized that I could have changed the emphasis of my story and been able to fit into the Showers (tears!) or Flowers (new beginnings!) categories as well.

I shared briefly about the end of my marriage...and I was questioned by the leaders..."What was the turning point for you?   When did you know you were going to be okay?"  That was a great moment for me...I paused and then I realized, I did have a turning point.   For me, it was just one week after the final divorce decree when I celebrated my 60th birthday.  It was a wonderful celebration...lovely friends, decor, excellent food and drink, and I was rockin' my off the shoulder jumpsuit!   Now, I have told you about this before, but yesterday, saying it out loud, I realized that it really was a turning point.   I didn't know what life would have for me, and I still don't, but I do know that I am doing well and I am reminded daily of the great tribe I have!!   

My story in short - I found out about the betrayal, we worked through the divorce process, and I came out a survivor!   These are the bullet points and my actual story expands on these things.  

Life is one big story…the beginning, the middle and the end.  We all have stories, that’s for sure.  No one has time to listen to your full life story being told from the stage…so we are a series of short stories…some are happy, some are sad and some are just hard to believe!   But they are our stories.

I believe I have the potential be a great storyteller.  I'm not sure I'm ever going to be professional but I do think I have a chance at telling a story on stage!   It will probably be down the road a bit, but you will be the first to know!

And in case you are keeping track, Baby T is the size of a pomegranate this week!!