LTYM 2014: Austin

I need to be honest before I talk about LTYM 2014: Austin. I was a little jealous about not being able to share my story, Breakdown. It reflected a very dark, scary time in my life and I really wanted to share with others because I have not completely healed. I needed to force myself to tell others what I went through and share, openly, how I felt. My husband rarely reads my blog so I was able to publish the story knowing he’d likely never read it and I’d never have to talk to him about my insecurities.

If I was forced to read aloud in front of 200+ people, I’d have to talk to him. Alas, I was NOT chosen, not even as a semi-finalist, so I needed to pull up my big girl panties and tell others to go see this amazing show. I did just that, and happily. I tweeted. I shared it on Facebook and I even invited a friend new to the blogging world to come with me. I was excited for these women that would get to share their story at LTYM 2014: Austin, even if I was still just a little sad. Oh, and as an added bonus my name was in the program!

The night of the show I laughed. I cried. I was still a little jealous. I was incredibly relieved, proud of my friends and felt so incredibly guilty.

I went to the show and I TRULY enjoyed it. When I saw the crowd, I was relieved that I would not be speaking. It looked like a tough crowd.

I was so proud of my sweet friend, Kim for sharing her story of PPD. I cried when I heard about the first wife from another Momma, understood on a certain level when one mom talked about “being crooked”, though I’ve never referred to myself that way; I related.

I nodded my head in agreement as not ONE but TWO Moms talked about their breastfeeding journey. Let the record show that I have been breastfeeding my third child for 1,058 days. I’m not prepared to count the total days of all 3 children. No thanks. I’ll remain oblivious that the total reaches over 3000 days.

I laughed as one woman talked about sperm donors, another talked about how her journey with her mother began on NYE in the 70s and another told a revised story of having great comebacks to an impossibly rude comment. I wish i could mention how each and every story touched me but I think I will save some surprises for you when all the speeches are available on Youtube.

The show had so much to offer and I can’t imagine having missed a single story. I was pleased with the choices that were made and I felt so guilty for being jealous. I unbelievably impressed with how poised these women were upon that stage. Surely I would haven thrown up my margarita. They did drink to calm themselves, right?

The beautiful women that were behind the scenes of the show did an amazing job organizing and choosing fantastic speakers. Kristen, LeAnn and Heather worked tirelessly to chose the best show to represent our city and I want to thank them for their hard work.