Starting over

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There have been so many things that have taken place in my life that have required picking myself up and brushing myself off. For the last 30 years, I have carried this Poster I was given (preMeme’s) around with me and it has hung on every office wall I have had.

I was inspired by a recent post from a local woman who had asked people what experiences in life required them to start over and how they did it.

This is something I have experience in.

At the age of 8, I was part of a custody battle – my mom had problems. My father got custody through Oregon, but not Pennsylvania and had to come to take us out of state, which I was grateful for.

I believe that experience made me learn forgiveness and hope.

In my 20’s I got on the wrong track and moved out here 30 years ago with $200 to my name and a backpack.

That experience taught me how to get honest with myself.

I started YS with no funding 20 years ago, just bartending at night. My son and I moved into a 500 sq ft apt.

I learned that damn hard work and a hell of a lot of persistence can make a dream come alive.

911 happened when YS was only a few months old. We had the crash of 2008 and the floods of 2013.

I learned the world doesn’t dictate my response.

I expanded in 2011 with a second magazine that ran the front range. It was good, but not good for me. I love my career and love everything about media and journalism. I truly do. To be that big required compromises to the values that built the magazine. I could not and will not let go of those standards as long as I am a Publisher. It was too big and it caused a mess. One that was my responsibility to clean up.

I learned that I am made up of resilience, strength and the fortitude to overcome. But I also learned that having a life worth living is more important than all the success.

I could not overcome it alone tho. I was blessed with people whose belief in me helped carry me when I lost my own. The noise in the head that was so hard to turn off, the loving support to help clear it was a huge factor in overcoming.

I learned we can not and should not do it alone. I learned that we are all connected and we have more in common than we know.

I am more committed now than ever, to pay that support forward.

At this point, the damn Coronavirus is not what I am going to let take us down. I hope you won’t either. We are stronger than we know.

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