This is my schedule:
Monday: Conference call with a work contact
Tuesday: Business After Hours
Wednesday: Skype with the Marketing Committee after physical therapy
Thursday: Meet my chaplain from Elmhurst College and then go to physical
therapy
Friday: Get my eyebrows done and Spirit & Truth
Saturday: Lector at Church
Sunday: Nothing
The conference call on Monday is super easy because I don't have to go
anywhere.
On Tuesday, Tiffany and I have Business After Hours at night which is a
networking event through my work. Monetta usually works Tuesday night. This is
difficult because Monetta needs money but I need to feel comfortable at work
and Tiffany and I have this monthly event down, it's systematic by now. I feel
terrible but I need to make decisions that make life as easy as possible. As an
employer, I grapple with that every time I have to make a decision like that.
It's an hour and a half of going up to strangers and getting them to tweet
about River North Business Association. Tiffany has known about this for a
month because I have to remind her every week in my Saturday e-mails. Yes,
every Saturday I e-mail every single assistant and explain what we'll be doing
during their shift. It's exhausting but extremely necessary. They need the
addresses and how I expect them to dress for certain events. This event went
very well as usual.
On Wednesday, I have physical therapy then I shower and put on a nice top
for the meeting. Showering isn't necessarily exhausting but it's an event. It's
certainly not jumping in the shower like people who are able bodied may do.
Tiffany gets me dressed and fed, and then I check the agenda for the meeting.
The meeting is going well until I sneeze and it becomes a bloody nose. Are you
kidding me? I take care of it which takes a good five minutes because of my lack
of control over my hands.
On Thursday, I have a meeting with Kevin, who runs a mentoring program
for inner city kids. He asked me to mentor. We need to talk about what it would
involve. Meanwhile, I ask Tiffany to grocery shop while I talk to Kevin. It's
Thursday and I need food for the weekend. Jewel is a block away from where we’ll
be meeting making it a no brainer.
On Friday, I get my eyebrows done. Now, I have the best salon ever. My
eyebrow lady is so patient with my body but it's still stressful because being
still is so difficult for me. My mother gave me sensitive skin so the Starbucks
barista says, “you just got your eyebrows done, they look great.” I thank her
and ask how her real estate classes are going. She has a test this weekend. I
make a mental note to ask about her test Monday.
All throughout the week, my toilet has been running nonstop and annoying the
heck out of me! So, I'm relieved when I hear silence Friday afternoon. Oh
joy!
On Fridays, I always go to Spirit and Truth. It's a young adult adoration
group. I have to be silent for a half hour. This is a really good thing for me.
It's as if Jesus is saying, TAKE A BREAK, SUPERWOMAN! I appreciate the time to
rest and center myself.
After Spirit and Truth, Theresa and I program Prayers of the Faithful in my
DynaVox. I lector the next day and I need to program a lot in. This takes an
hour.
On Saturday, I have to wear my good clothes all day so I'm ready to go to
church. This took years to realize but my life is so much easier if I don't
change clothes right before an event. As for speaking, I use two different
types of software when I lector so when it goes perfectly, I am a happy
woman!
So, the inspiration for this post came from two very different
conversations. The first conversation happened when I went to a different
church. I had gone home for the weekend so I had to go to Sunday night mass
instead of Saturday. I had to e-mail Theresa and make sure she could come at a different
time. After mass, this woman comes up and thanks Theresa for bringing me to
church. I was so mad! That was when I realized I don't fit the profile of being
superwoman. To the world, I don't fit into that box. Talk about irritating! The
second conversation was the exact opposite. A woman who I know very well at my
parish came up to me and said,” how do you do it, you always look so put
together!” I respond by saying, “thank you, but it's easier because I am not a
mother like you are.” This was obviously a very humbling comment.
It is my belief that so many people assume that my assistants do the
scheduling. It’s also assumed that my parents help schedule. Nope! I work out
every logistic, detail, and execution of each appointment or event. That first
lady made me angry. You can’t really say anything because the comment comes
from a good place. After thinking about it, I decided that blogging about it
was the answer. There’s so much that people just don’t know or would ever think
about what I have to do to make my life work. I love explaining my life to the
world.
It should not be taken for granted that my assistants are extremely diligent
and utterly amazing about being there for me. Currently, I’ve had two assistants
for two years, two assistants for one year, and one assistant for 6 months.
That is rare and I am extremely fortunate. I have the life I want because of
pure determination, great people, and my Google Calendar!
Love,
Hannah!
P.S. I dedicate this post to the super women in my life. You have taught me everything I know, and you all look a little different!
