These past few years have been hard. Most everybody I know has had a challenging time between the pandemic, career changes, death of loved ones, illness, the economy, global unrest and more. I’m no exception.
This week marks one year since my life-saving surgery.
I realize that may sound a bit dramatic, but the reality is, it’s also true.
You may recall that I chose to have a hysterectomy in January 2021 to relieve the pain I had endured for more than a decade. I prepared for surgery with focused intention. I created a prayer bundle to support my process. During my recovery, I used my own journaling prompts to remind myself of the importance of smart self-care.
On April 20, 2021, I had to have emergency surgery to repair a very, very rare complication from the hysterectomy. The short version is that I had a hematoma which created a tear in my vaginal cuff which led to an opening in my abdominal cavity. If I had gotten sepsis or my insides had come out, I could’ve died. If you’re curious for more details, read this. Limited research data shows that less than one percent of patients experience this complication. I guess I like to be exceptional. Ha!
So, this week is a reflective one for me.
I’m big on anniversaries. I think it’s important to stop and meditate on the major events in our lives… whether they are joyful events or sad experiences. I believe that time—whether it’s 1, 5 or 10 years—gives us the benefit of both perspective and wisdom.
One year later, I am pondering the following:
- I learned that I am stronger than I ever knew. I’ve dealt with health challenges before but there’s nothing like having a brush with your own mortality to really wake you up. However long I have here on Earth, I want to be vital, whole, joyful and filled with wonder!
- I am grateful for the incredible medical care that I received and for the support of friends and family near and far. I’ve been blessed with supportive community my entire life, but it really shows up when faced with such a scary life event.
- Moving forward, I’m committing to a new level of health and body awareness. Now that I’ve cleared the one-year mark, I feel confident being more aggressive with my fitness goals and I’ve re-engaged my personal trainer. I’m also doing a better job of listening to my body’s signals when I feel pain, fatigue or anything less than alignment. I seek health care advice more quickly because I believe that pain is our body’s way of trying to communicate with us.
What major milestone or anniversary is coming up for you? Maybe it’s something happy like a birthday, the anniversary of starting your business or five years since you published your first book. Or maybe it’s something sad like the anniversary of the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or honoring a divorce that took place years ago.
Whatever it is, I hope you take time to pause, reflect and remember. Ask yourself:
- What did I learn about myself during that time?
- What am I grateful for from that experience?
- How can I apply what I learned moving forward to help live a more rich, full and authentic life?
If you need help or support with this, let’s talk. Or if you’d like to design a ritual to mark a special occasion, we can do that, too.
Blessings to you always,
Elizabeth
P.S. If you have a special woman in your life that has a big milestone coming up—either a birthday, recovery from an illness, a wedding, or other event, you can give her a gift to commemorate her special occasion. AND, don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming soon. We’ve got some great gifts in the Sacred Celebrations store including gorgeous NEW bracelet designs (suns, spirals, flowers and more in addition to our best-selling dragonflies!) and our Smart Self-Care for Busy Women Ritual Kit would make a GREAT gift for that busy woman in your life who’s juggling it all. Use Coupon Code ILOVEMOM to save 20% off your order until April 30th!
