My last blog post was back in August of last year. 7 months ago. It was titled nO Regrets Living – Part 2 – A Birthday, and I’ve been trying to post nO Regrets Living – Part 3 – A Recovery, since then. Many stops and starts later, and I’m no closer to completing it.

When I started writing about my journey with Valley Fever back in 2013, my intention was for this blog to be heartfelt, gut-wrenchingly honest, inspiring and visually beautiful. The truth is, those things light me up, and it helped me to feel connected to the outside world.

Luckily, my health has been steadily improving for the last 2 years, and I really feel like I’ve found my “new normal”. (afternoon naps and all). Yay!! Except for one thing: even though my brave painting ‘voice’ is alive and well, my brave writing voice has gone underground. I have this strange belief that people wanted to hear from my sick and recovering self, but may not want to hear from my ‘well’ self. Did I really just say this out loud? (Just breathe.)

Enter BRAVE BLOGGING by Andrea Scher. Andrea is someone I have followed for several years because of her honest and creative voice, and when I saw she was offering a Brave Blogging online class, my heart said YES! So this is day one, and her magic has already begun to have it’s effect. I’m actually creating this blog post and I promise I’ll hit publish when it’s done❤️

Those of us in the class will be receiving Daily Prompts for 30 days to help us awaken our brave voices. This is the prompt that got me started today:

25 Random Things About Me

Not sure what will come out, but here goes (and I only get 15 minutes to do this).

1. I competively twirled baton for 9 years growing up.
2. Tulips are one of my favorite flowers.
3. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t see the sky and the moon.
4. I still have dreams about our Minnesota home.
5. It was worth getting Valley Fever because I found my artist self.
6. My husband makes me laugh more than anyone I know.
7. I’m loving being 60+ years old.
8. Someday we might move to Dingle, Ireland.
9. I love watching my husband cook.
10. I love elephants and will definitely see the movie Dumbo.
11. One of my favorite sounds is birds in Spring.
12. My least favorite sounds are leaf blowers.
13. Playing golf lights me up and continues to teach me everything I need to know about life.
14. In January I binge watched all 7 seasons of Game of Thrones and really believe Jon Snow and Arya can save the world. Can’t wait until April 14th!!
15. I play the Native American Flute.
16. Being one of the artists in the Fountain Hills Gallery has brought me a sense of community that I’ve never felt before.
17. My two favorite purchases in the last 6 months is a macro lens for my iPhone and an electric cart that allows me to walk the golf course.
18. I love journals and keep buying them even though I have 30 or more in the cabinet.
19. Mother Nature is one of my best friends.
20. I never turn down an opportunity to eat ice cream.
21. Yoga and Jazzercise help me feel alive, grounded & strong.
22. I wasn’t sure I would ever be strong enough to be out in the world again.
23. Even though I’m writing about nO Regrets, I have huge regrets.
24. Even after many years of sobriety, being a recovering alcoholic in a high use culture is at times still lonely, sad and frustrating.
25. I’m grateful beyond words for the people who have loved me into existence.

Whew! Ok, it took me more than 15 minutes to complete this list, but loved the flow of what appeared. Thank you Andrea Scher for your brave voice in the world and for reminding me how much this lights me up!

“We lose touch with our wingspan when we hunch.”

– Dr. Martin Shaw

Be Brave.

Be Kind.

Be True.

lOve, VickiO