03/23/2025
Excuse the long post, as it will go onto my new blog platform when I get it set up.
Exactly 5 YEARS AGO to the date on March 23rd, 2020 in New York City the very real beginning of what would become an unprecedented global medical crisis was just starting to make its wave from my proverbial backyard while I was dealing with my own personal medical crisis. Little did I realize the extent to which these two separate medical crises would collide on this very date, nor the rollercoaster ride that would ensue. Today marks the 5-year anniversary of receiving the results of a painful MRI guided biopsy as Andrew Cuomo, the now disgraced former Governor of New York, stepped in as my attending oncologist and with no medical qualifications to do so, denied my treatment.
You see, back in March of 2020 in a course of four weeks I had been subjected to at least eight mammograms, twelve sonograms, two MRIs, and five biopsies. And now, five years, two states, four countries, and one “pond” later, I am somehow still on that rollercoaster ride, perhaps because the purpose of it all is still slowly revealing itself. My beating Cancer and Covid was just the beginning. From NYC to Arizona, to Belize, to Panamá, and then to the biggest and perhaps scariest of them all--to Madrid, every move has had a purpose. From the outside, I am sure people wonder what it is my 15-year-old daughter—my soulmate and partner are running from, running to, or some combination thereof. I get how it can be really hard to understand the reasons for our unconventional life. And as hard as it is to understand, I suspect that it is not at all hard to judge. But for me, I can only live with our truth and our purpose—a purpose that is much bigger, more impactful, and one that will be revealed as part of my next life project.
As far as the past 5 months where I haven’t posted much for a reason, I can say that we absolutely LOVE Madrid. Daniella is crushing it in the British Curriculum, taking Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Economics in addition to Geography and History. Education here is so different than the US. She has a particular knack for Economics, which blows my mind. I love sitting with her and discussing global and domestic economics, especially comparing all of the places where we have lived. She’s got the critical thinking and common sense that will propel her into a phenomenal future in whatever she decides to do. If she continues on this path, which is by no means easy, she will graduate from IGCSE to International Baccalaureate for her last 2 years of high school and from there off to the Uni of her choice, if she even decides that is what she wants. On another note, she finally decided to conjure up the courage to touch her eyeballs and is able to ditch the glasses and in so doing, she finally saw the beauty in her intense beautiful eyes and exotic facial features that have somewhat been in hiding under the thick glasses.
On my side, I have decided to “come out” with our Madrid life because I finally can. We are legal residents with social security numbers and all (a process that was pretty brutal and subject for another post). Plus, I am sick of having one foot on each side of the proverbial pond. My clients now know where I am and it’s no problem, as we work with global brands. If anything, it can be an advantage and as my Spanish gets better and better, I look forward to growing my own footprint here in Western Europe. 🌎
All of this said, the ups of living here haven’t been without their matching downs. First of all, this is the most I have written since my book was published and as with anything, crafting the skill takes practice, which is pretty obvious from my shaky writing here. And, about three weeks ago, I threw my back out and couldn’t even walk or sit down in a chair for more than 5 minutes. Living in constant pain and not able to go to the gym (my happy place) has taken a toll on my mental health. But I am FINALLY back…back to the gym and thanks to the anniversary today, I made it BACK here to the computer to write.
Thank you always to those of you who lift me up on my bad days, as there have been more than I have wanted lately. I am so grateful for you and you know who you are. 🙏😘😊
And if if you haven’t already and want to read the first half of the rollercoaster, you can find my book here on Amazon. https://shorturl.at/eNdvm
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