Here's to the Rising

I received the best compliment the other day from a client.  She said, "This is exactly what I needed.  Someone who has been through the kinds of things I'm dealing with.  You've shown me how to stop being scared."  I had tears in my eyes.  Listen, every single person you know is going through stuff.  Even the ones with the perfect Facebook pages.  Life brings us loss, trauma, uninvited change, illness, broken hearts.  But we can decide what to do with those experiences . . . because life also brings us second chances, unexplainable miracles, tiny moments of beauty, redemption.  I look back at the last 10 years (and especially the last SIX, since my cancer diagnosis), and I feel awestruck.  The things I've risen from, the things YOU've risen from.  It's miraculous.  Don't stop, keep rising!  

(And by the way, those bathing suit pics up there?  Yes, you can bet I take pretty good care of myself, eat tons of veggies, work out.  But one of the many perks of beating breast cancer (including, you know, being ALIVE): new boobs, filled in with fat from my thighs.  I'm all about transparency: no, I was not born this way.  And if you find yourself in the scary but manageable position of needing breast reconstruction, I know a guy . . . and he's the best.  I'm always happy to chat with anyone who's exploring their options.  There are LOTS of mixed emotions involved, and there are LOTS of options.)

XOXO ~ Nicole