Lorraine

Lorraine’s five words are Outgoing, Fun, Energetic, Loving, and Caring. She has been married for more than twenty years, is a mother and a grandmother, works part-time in an office and lives in a Midwestern state. Most of her days, she writes, are spent creating stuff to gift to others to brighten up their day. Her faith shapes her, and so does her mother, who taught us that everyone was equal in Gods eyes and always took people into our home to help them.

Her defining moments are two losses with a marriage between them. Her mother died suddenly in a car accident when Lorraine was in her early twenties: that moment shock my life to the core, I felt scared, lost and alone. A few years later she married my new best friend, and with him I learned to trust again and to love without fear of losing him. Then her seven-year-old son went to the doctor for a headache and was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died a few months after his eighth birthday. Again I was lost and afraid. Through lots and lots of prayers and counseling she found her footing, and the family set up an effort in his memory that sends care packages to sick children and gift cards to their parents for food or gas. One reading is that she meets each loss the same way, by turning toward other people.

What she took from her son’s death is a way of living: to not take life for granted for anyone. Celebrate each day and each achievement/birthday/etc..etc.. She keeps busy on purpose, because when I sit too long I began to dwell on things that may cause me anxiety. This year she turned her crafting into a small business making shirts, cups, balloons and holiday ornaments. She calls it a Life Saver for me.

Her food words are Blah unhealthy fast easy fun. She explains: I have a love /hate relationship with food...some days I want it and other days I dont have an appetitie. Breakfast is often fruit or a grain bar while rushing; dinner, cooked for the family, is meat, a starch and vegetables. For religious reasons she eats no pork or shellfish. Collard greens, sweet potatoes, chicken and corn bread take her back to her mother: This meal always reminds me or being in the kitchen while my mom cooked. They would talk there and listen to music. Her husband watches food shows with her and will try ANYTHING. Offered alligator, she writes: yeah Ill pass!

Her superpower is her smile: not matter how bad a situation looks..I find if I smile that I can get thru anything. She copes through prayer, singing and gospel music, which tells of trusting God even when its hard, the music she was raised on. She snacks most when bored, on peanut butter or cake, and admits, I like Ice Cream when Im driving lol. Her 2 a.m. person is her daughter: I can depend on here to be there when no one else is around.

On Day 5 she wants to stop stress eating and eating when bored. Asked what is at stake, she wrote two words: MY LIFE. When to start: RIGHT NOW TODAY. What stands in the way: ME. What would help: Accountability to someone other than myself. Her vision board says ME FIRST ALWAYS, because it helps me protect ME. Her letter repeats it: Please continue to PUT YOU FIRST! For a woman who has spent years caring for others, the capital letters read as a permission she is giving herself.