I have tried for years to speak in church, but I always either freeze up, or get too emotional to speak.  But I finally succeeded & I spoke at my fireside!  I am so excited! I have NEVER felt so comfortable in front of such a large group!  I know there were prayers & a comfort blessing that helped.  I felt like I was just talking to friends & it helped me to release any tension through laughter. I’m actually grateful for all the tech & help we had, since it helped me relax & reminded me of my focus –to have faith in Him!  It also helped that the topic required little thinking (as it was about my life & much of it was recorded on AI:  Speaking of AI, I meant to say that the AI voice was made with recordings of my pre-stroke voice, but I forgot!  Cool, huh?)  The AI voice sounds very robotic if I type it, so my daughter, Sophie read with my AI voice to provide voice inflection!  (Sophie was only 2 when I had my stroke, & has no recollection of my voice, but ironically sounds a lot like me!)     

Anyway, if u watched my fireside on a recording or on zoom, I’m not sure if u could hear me, but those in the chapel could (hear me)!  It was soooo cool! I spoke so well & so clearly …I can’t believe how clear I was (for me anyway – haha!)!  Shout out to Red Arena/horse therapy & to my music therapist for all the speech help & building core strength!  

Today I read something that was written by Carrie Newsom in an article from “The Mighty”   

“Sometimes what we consider our greatest “faults” or “weaknesses” are actually our most incredible gifts if we reframe them in a positive way and learn about what they can do for us.”  I totally agree & have seen my “weaknesses” become strengths as I rely on Christ.     

Sorry for another long break: I took a 12-week writing class (called Journey to Legacy) to help me write “my story.”  It has been a struggle emotionally, but I’m so grateful for what I learned & for the help I received!   

In other news, my first grandaughter was born!  (Rowynn, but her nickname is Winnie)  I now have grandkidS!  Originally, I was called “grandma” by default (since I hadn’t picked a grandparent name, & my husband wanted to be called Grandpa). I said I wanted to be called what my grandson called me, so I was called “grandma” until my grandson, James, called me “maymaw” (spelled phonetically, but we spelled it “mamaw”)   Soon after, James could say “grandma.”  Now he calls me both names, but my kids are trying to make “mamaw” stick.  (What’s funny is that he was learning to say “pumpkin” when he was learning “Grandpa,” so my husband- who wanted to be “grandpa” is “Pum-pum” – my husband ended up being named by our grandson & I did not!)  We’ll see what Winnie calls us…At first, I was very opposed to grandma, but it is endearing now, & I’m now old enough to be called “grandma,” so I don’t mind both names!  HaHa!