I've Got This

I wrote this in the early morning hours of September 30, 2010 as part of a scholarship application (which I was not awarded).  Wow!  If I only knew then... It is 6:00 a.m., and my house is quiet.  This is the time when I make my son’s lunch for school, prepare his breakfast, and ensure that he looks presentable in his school uniform, papers signed and checks written, knowing  that I share this quiet ritual with hundreds of thousands of moms across the globe.  Once he is safely delivered to school, I will schedule this week’s conference calls for an AMTA volunteer workgroup, schedule a charity auction meeting for my son’s school, and then begin advanced reading in preparation for the upcoming fall quarter, which doesn’t begin for another week.   I have returned to school at South University in order to obtain an Associate’s degree in Physical Therapist Assisting.  As a Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Lymphedema Therapist, I require an add...

June 5, 2014 What is bravery? The dictionary says it's "the quality that allows someone to do things that are dangerous or frightening," but what does it look like? That seems too simple.  I always envision a figure that is in mortal peril, facing an absolutely dismal, no-win situation, a la Joan of Arc or an innocent person facing a firing squad or a hungry cheetah.  I don't know why, but those seem like the scariest possible scenarios to me, and I imagine that anyone who could remain conscious in the face of certain, impending doom is incredibly brave. Fireman?  Brave.  Passengers on the Titanic?  Brave.  Holocaust survivor?  Extra double brave. I am not brave. I'm just Whitney.  John's wife.  Nicholas' mom.  The last five months have been a little uncomfortable and extremely inconvenient for me, but I am not brave. I was diagnosed with non-invasive breast cancer, and I was terrified.  I was terrified by the thought...