Curses
This photo was taken by my brother Michael Vidoli, in Sayulita, Mexico about three weeks after my husband left.
We ended up there because on one of many occasions where I sobbed to my dear friend about how scared I was and how I could not make sense of what had happened, she suggested I plan a trip - something tangible for the present - something to get me out of my head.
Always my go-to. Ocean. Waves.
On the way to Mexico, I was standing in the airport with my mom and kids. Severely hung over - the wine consumption of a recently left woman can be heavy. I stood in there waiting to board the plane and considered my life over. I had zero financial options, lived 3000 miles away from family, felt as old as a 90 year old grandma, and believed wholeheartedly that no one would ever love me again.
It would be a few months from this trip where I would start to get a glimpse of the immense gifts I had received.
It is not extraordinary to experience divorce or to be a single parent. The reason it is for me, is because it was the first time in my life I made a choice not to be the victim of circumstance.
The past couple years, I have been putting the pieces of my life together - not back together - but together, you know, to make something better.
I sold the home my children were born in, moved to a new town, and took a leap into starting my own business. In short - it has been scary as fuck.
For a long time it felt like this story was my curse. Come to find out, it’s my super power. Seeing this picture again, offers me a gentle nudge to kindly regard the contrast. The fuel to my flame comes in the form of this woman - forcing smile, drowning in fear, unaware of her immense power. By going through this experience, I discovered that I and I alone have the power to create the life I want. And so that’s what I’m doing. And I’m never ever going to give up.