Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Reflections of a Once Upon a Time March of Dimes Fundraiser

DISCLAIMER:  All opinions are my own!

Here it is, the arrival of the midnight hour, the most magical time of my day.  The house is quiet and I can be still.  Sometimes I believe I should be pouring my words into my novel instead of a blog post. I craft these blog posts with tender loving care. Tonight I have a thousand thoughts I want to share. My life has been taking so many turns at lightening speed that I can barely hold on.  I always welcome change and see change as an opportunity to create something that wasn't there before.

I will get all of my stories here, in one place, eventually.  This is the place where I discover my inner voice.  One post at a time the words will tumble onto the computer screen.
 
Tonight I must take a deep breathe.  I officially walked away from something that I have treasured for too many years.  It was time to let go.  And I thank God for leading me down a path of reflection and introspection.  It is not always easy to make the right decision.  But the more time passed and the more I soul searched, I realized that the right choice was the choice I had made in the beginning.
                                     
                                            The beginning of a long emotional journey.
 
Two weeks ago, I was told my part time position had been eliminated at the March of Dimes.  I had inquired three weeks prior if my position was "safe" because I knew donations were down across the Nation.  I was told that a fundraising position was never cut first and that I would be the last to go.  I should have listened to my gut feeling because I was the first one to go.  It was hard not to take it personally. I had done an AMAZING job by motivating my family teams to fundraise and had exceeded our fundraising goal two years in a row.  Also, this Spring, I had raised the most money ever, raising close to $4,000 with my own March for Babies family team, The Fabulous Five Fitzgerald Family Team.

Since 2001, after the loss of my son, Joshua, who was born still born at 27 weeks, I have been the sole fundraiser for my March for Babies family team, always securing recognition as a Top Walker, raising $1,000 or more. This year I secured the Number 6 spot for Top Ten Individual Fundraiser's for the Fairfax County walksite.  And I had accomplished all of this while working part-time.  It had been a looong March for Babies season and I was exhausted.  I was looking forward to working my agreed upon, very minimal, summer hours.
 
But the first week that my summer hours began, I was told my part-time position had been eliminated.  I was offered the full time position that had been created.  A position that offered no flex time, required me to be in the office 5 days a week, 9-5pm, along with an hour commute each way. And I would have to work a considerable amount of "extra" hours that I wouldn't be paid for since I would be an exempt employee. This included late night evenings, early sunrise mornings, and kiss your weekend good-bye hours.
  •  Maybe if I was in a different place in my life? 
  • Maybe if I was not a wife to a breadwinner husband who travels upon a moment's notice? 
  • Maybe if I didn't have to manage a time consuming, family activity filled schedule? 
  •  Maybe if volunteering at my kid's school had become dull and boring?
  • Maybe if it didn't bother me so much that there would be no guarantee that I could attend their special school performances? 
  • And maybe if I did not have outside interests that I wanted to pursue (like running the distance)? 
            Take all of this away, and maybe I could have accepted the position on the spot???

I did not accept my part-time position to get rich and this full-time position was in the same category. As my husband says "I am the soul" of our relationship.
 
I needed to do some soul searching in the next two days.  And then if I accepted the position, I was to start in a week.  Yes, you read that correct. I had TWO DAYS to make a major life decision and a little over ONE WEEK to find childcare for THREE kids in this rat race we call Northern Virginia.
I cannot begin to explain the emotions that flooded my very being.  I was a zombie for the first 24 hours after being delivered the news.  And then I went on a run and got caught in a hail storm and that changed Everything.  That awe inspiring, "I am strong and can do anything" run was my game changer and I wasn't going to walk away that easily.
 
I kept being told how this was "a business decision" and it was " the best thing for the March of Dimes to re-create my position and make it full time."  I find the irony of this decision is that it was made after I secured a successful March for Babies campaign for 2013 and the news was delivered the first week of my summer hours.
 
I am a darn good negiotator and decided to use my skills.  What I did, an attorney could have done.  It was a long, exhausting week that expended all my energy.  My husband didn't get it. He kept reminding me how I didn't want the job with such inflexibility and how I'd have to say goodbye to my freedom and my family if I accepted the position.  In retrospect, I think I was trying to gain control over the situation.  I wanted to believe I actually did have two sustainable choices in the matter.  I was fortunate that he let me walk away without guilt.  He also knew what was the best decision for our family.
 
So today I cut the ambilicord to the March of Dimes.  I have thoroughly enjoyed working with so many families who have provided me inspiration to be the best that I could be, in my position as a Community Director.  I walk away knowing that I have made a difference in this world through my fundraising accomplishments and motivating other families to fundraise for March for Babies.  I have been their fearless leader for the last year and a half.  I have cultivated numerous relationships in the community.  I am thankful to have the conversations with other Mom's who have lost a baby and found myself being their vehicle of HOPE.  I never meant to be a source of inspiration.  I think that just came naturally because I believed in the GOODNESS of the world and that I was truly helping to save the babies.  But now it is time to say Goodbye.  This journey has ended.

Today begins a New Chapter. A New Beginning. A New Story to write. If something in your life is not working, always be reminded that you have the power to make the decisions to change it. It takes courage and strength to close a door but always remember, there will be beautiful beginnings ahead. I have already witnessed this firsthand in my life since making this major decision. Know that you will be stronger than ever before and will face life with conviction. You are worthy. And everyone deserves a life full of happiness.

This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama



Friday, June 21, 2013

POSSIBILITIES...

Have you ever had to walk away from something you loved?  This is what I just did.  My decision has been made.  I chose my family and my freedom instead.

This was an agonizing decision.  One that I am glad is complete.  I have finished this chapter in my life.  Now I can FOCUS and move FORWARD.

An hour before my decision was stated, I was asked to be a grief counselor on Monday to help the youth in our community process an unbelievable tragedy.  There is a new journey for me that is beginning RIGHT NOW at this VERY MOMENT.  When one door closes, a new one opens.

                             I am going to find that place again - the place where I belong. 
                                      The place where I  can fly and soar to new heights!

I know my strengths and the idea's are swirling in my mind on what to do next.  If you have idea's for me, please share!  The important thing is that I close this door, walk away with pride, knowing what I've accomplished and put my best foot forward (which would be the one that is tendonitis free).  I must continue to push myself, to make myself better, to turn the impossible into I AM POSSIBLE.

Let the weekend begin!  It is time to celebrate!  I am free to discover new possibilities!





This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Fork in the Road

Think of a time when you had to make a difficult choice.  Tonight I looked towards the beautiful moon in the midnight sky hoping the answer would somehow be released from the Heavens Above. However much I wished for this to happen, the air stood still.

We all must make choices in life and some are very clear.  Others are like a blurred photo.  Our journey in life is carved through the choices we make.  I have been soul searching and asking many questions of how I want to move forward?  What does my future look like?  I wasn't planning on doing this analyzing until a curveball was thrown at me.  But isn't this how life always happens?

As time has passed, I have grown wiser, more confident, more assured.  I'm not so sure sometimes if this is a good thing??  I believe in justice and fairness and making the world a better place.  It is hard work to fight for your beliefs 24/7.  Every ounce of energy has been depleted except for the creative energy stirring in me to pour my thoughts into a blog post. 

And I had another blog post already stirring but here it goes already.

I have always been in tune with trying to fix what is broken, to turn a wrong into a right, to help someone in need.  I guess this is why I became a social worker.  And I am a darn good one too (so I've been told).  I have an uncanny ability to be empathetic and try to understand what someone is feeling.  I am usually spot on.  My work as a grief counselor was immensely rewarding but also emotionally exhausting. 

Fast forward, now I am a fundraiser.  And I have been able to motivate others to raise a few hundred thousand dollars, as well as, raising over $20,000 on my own.

I feel like life is an open canvas and there is so much to explore.  The one feeling I despise is feeling like a caged bird.

Life has a funny way of plopping down forks in the road when you weren't in the mindset to handle a major life decision.  However, I am a woman of Faith and strongly believe, all those forks are put there for a reason. 

               The difficult part is figuring out what the reason is.

Tonight, when I stepped outside into the darkness, I prayed for

discernment:
The act or process of exhibiting keen insight and good judgment.

I usually know the answer right away and it is 99% the right one.  My husband jokes that I always know the right thing to order on the menu.  But the menu tonight is only two choices with two entirely different paths.



One that will give me the freedom and flexibility to volunteer, attend school events, get the kids off the bus, pursue a business idea, buckle down with my writing, and to RUN.  I want to get Boston someday, somehow, someway, and I need to train like a mother runner!

Another path is in a completely different direction.  It will require hard work, patience, long hours away from my family but I will be making a difference.  I will have to learn how to use peapod, and dig out the crockpot, do laundry at midnight - oh wait! I already do that! - be disciplined and wake up at the crack of dawn to run, which I'm only known to do on race day!  And I will not be guaranteed that I can attend my children's special events that happen once in a lifetime.

I am fortunate and blessed to be able to have a choice and a husband who supports me with either path I choose.

So tonight I pray that when I wake up, the answer will be clear.  I know either way I'll be okay.  It is a big, wide, wonderful world and when we fall down, we must get up again and keep moving forward.





This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

SweetFrog - Chantilly/FRFX location, fundraiser TODAY, 6/19, to benefit the Chantilly Soccer Club!

If you didn't have a chance to hop on over yesterday to support a good cause, you have another chance TODAY (6/19)!
The Sweet Frog - Chantilly/FRFX location, located in the Greenbriar shopping center, is having a fundraiser from 12pm - 10pm, to support the Chantilly Soccer Club/Team Avalanche - my son's Travel Soccer Team! 15% of all sales TODAY will be donated to the Chantilly Soccer Club - no flyer is needed!  Please help us raise money for scholarships & soccer tournaments!  Please share with your family & friends! Thank you for your support!



This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

TODAY - March of Dimes Fundraiser at Sweet Frog!

Celebrate the LAST DAY of school for Fairfax County with your kids and support a great cause, at the March of Dimes fundraiser at SweetFrog in Fairfax/Chantilly, located in the Greenbriar shopping center!  The fundraiser will be held until 10pm TODAY, 6/18!  Thank You for helping to Save the Babies!

This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama


Sunday, June 16, 2013

Watch VEEP on HBO at 10pm EST TONIGHT!

I had the awesome opportunity to be an extra for the HBO show VEEP!  Look for me tonight during the race scene!  I'm wearing pink top/black pants/hair in ponytail!
It was an amazing, long day of filming!  The cast mingled amongst the extra's!  Pictured above is Tony Hale, one of the stars of VEEP and me, after wrapping up filming for over 12 hours!  
If you live in the DC/NoVA/MD area, HBO is FREE this weekend!  Thank you for watching VEEP!  :)


The above picture was taken in New York City!  I was so excited to see the billboard sign for VEEP!  ðŸ˜„

This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Karma

My THANK YOU post is half written but this post keeps bubbling to the surface and I need to let it go.  A very significant life event took place recently and maybe one day I can share how impactful this life event is to me and my family, but at this moment, I will focus on KARMA.

                                  Do you believe in Karma? 



As I ran today, in the wind, and hail, my courage and determination appeared.  I was strong and kept running through the torrential downpour.  Even when I had the fleeting thought of running into the nearby school, to seek shelter.  But then, a funny thing happened.

THE WIND SUBSIDED, THE HAIL STOPPED, THE RAIN BECAME A REFRESHING REMINDER THAT I AM ALIVE, I AM FREE, I AM HEALTHY,
I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY, I HAVE LOYAL FRIENDS.
 
I AM SURROUNDED BY GOODNESS AND LOVE AND IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY,
I KNOW THESE ARE THE BLESSINGS THAT GIVE ME STRENGTH
TO EMBRACE A CHALLENGE WITH CHARACTER AND GRACE.


No matter what uncertainty life gives you, it is your destiny, to see it as a new, beautiful beginning. 

Karma will take care of everything else.

This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama

Monday, June 10, 2013

Short and Sweet...Life for me is about Saving the Babies

It's the midnight hour and I'm very, very sleepy. I am lying here with my head on my pillow and writing from the newly discovered blogger app that I installed on my phone. I wanted to write more tonight...there is so much that I am thankful for! However, this blog post will be short and sweet because I need my rest. I can't really remember a day, with a blank canvas, since the school year started. There always seems to be so much to do! The March of Dimes fundraiser that I worked so hard on, was yesterday and I am continuously in awe of how the Universe gives back to those who pay it forward.
My plan was to write about the do good things Sunday event at Stone's Cove but I've been going nonstop since Friday and my brain is in a fog and my eyelids are heavy. Those words will be written tomorrow. One day at a time, I will get all of these half written blog posts out of my head and completed, by writing them here.
There's one thing I must say,that has been on my heart and my mind ever since yesterday, and the day of the March for Babies walk, and the day of my March for Babies family team fundraiser at Dogfish Head Alehouse, and a thousand times before, ever since my first March for Babies walk in May of 2001. It Is this overwhelming feeling of gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation of the GOOD in the world. I am one of the "lucky ones" because the March of Dimes gave me a reason to look forward and want to give back instead of hating the world for taking my babies away. I constantly strive to be a vehicle of goodness, hope, inspiration, and to give back to others. For this, in itself, is an amazing feat and I want to say THANK YOU to every single person who has supported me on my journey as a March of Dimes Mission Mom! My hope is that one day, no Mother or Father, will have to endure saying goodbye to their child that was born too early.
Please visit this link to read more about my journey as a March of Dimes Mission Mom or to donate to the March of Dimes, in support of our family team: http://www.marchforbabies.org/AFitzgerald3

Thank You for helping to Save the Babies! ❤

This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama
 
 
 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

do good things Sunday event (6/9) at Stone's Cove to benefit the March of Dimes


Today has finally arrived!!! The do good things Sunday event is TODAY, June 9th, at Stone's Cove in Herndon!

 

Local Friends ~ Please help make the March of Dimes fundraiser a success & refresh & recharge at Stone's Cove kitbar!
 
This restaurant is super fun & the food is amazing! Sip on the March of Dimes Signature Cocktail! We will also have a drawing you can enter for a Shapes Spa gift certificate & a membership to Gold's Gym!
 
Call ahead for seating! The fundraiser is all day, 11am to 9pm & March of Dimes will receive 10% of all sales!
 
Please invite your friends & family! Hope to see you at Stone's Cove! THANK YOU for helping all babies be born stronger & healthier!
 
 
This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge!
Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:

1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama 



Monday, June 3, 2013

Craving CReaTiViTy

It's officially past the midnight hour.  My absolutely favorite time of the day.  I love how the house is quiet and I can actually think.  I am constantly in motion and relish when I have a chance to be still.  Although, this is when it happens - the moments of awakening, of realizations, of fears surfacing, of remembering all the things that I did not follow through.
My energy appears in leaps in bounds and I run with it.  I know how to organize.  And socialize (something I'm quite good at since the 4th grade, according to my mom).  And I can run really long distances without thinking twice.  I can organize PTA luncheons.  And raise thousands of dollars for charity.  And shop for hours and pick out captivating outfits. But why is it so difficult to follow through when it comes to my writing projects?
I have suffered writer's block the whole month of May.  My column at examiner.com has been neglected.  I'm not even sure if my password will work anymore.  Without sounding cliché,' I have been "stuck" for awhile even though I've written a novel in my mind. 
Running stirs everything up and the actual writing part is the final touch to spilling my thoughts to the universe.  Often I wonder what is the point of blogging??  Who is reading my blog? And why do they continue? 

My blog is not about building my ego or self esteem, it is about learning from my mistakes, challenging myself, evolving into a better person, to make the world a better place. 

It is raw emotions that leap out of me when the house is still, after the clock has stuck midnight.  A safe haven, just like my dairy that I wrote in every single day, starting at age 12 until I went off to college.  It was during my teenage years, that I discovered my passion for writing.  What an awesome gift!  But then I became an adult and time and energy and responsibilities sucked all that passion away.  Recently, I have experienced extraordinary life events that have shaped my outlook on life and have given me the passion to write again. 
I have taken on a personal challenge to write with passion, with focus, with determination, for the month of June.  Weekends will be my time to walk away from the computer but during the week, I will carve out the time to do this, to be true to myself.  I need to get my feet back on the ground, get my head out of the clouds and follow through on many writing projects, not just my blog.  It is has been a challenging 2013 to say the least but I am taking it day by day.  Writing gives me hope, and strength, and courage, to keep pushing myself and not to stagnate.  Today is a new day.  And with every new day, arrives new energy.  I will do my best to accomplish as much as possible. 
Thank you Tiny Steps Mommy for inviting me to join you on this 15 day blog challenge!   http://www.tinystepsmommy.com/2013/06/03/the-15-day-blog-challenge-getting-started/

                                    Let the creativity flow! 


This blog is part of a 15-day blog challenge! Here are the blogs participating in the challenge:
1.Role Mother2.Mrscpkc - Personal Memoir and Lifestyle Blog
3.Twingles Mom4.Tiny Steps Mommy
5.Ukalithian Mama6.Viva La Mommy
7.My So-Called Supermom Life8.Julie Unplugged: Mommy, Writer & OP
9.InsomniMama