I'm Doing a Little Experiment on Myself

I had a profound conversation on Friday that changed my entire perspective on sugar, wheat, gluten, and dairy. I followed that up with some internet research and it would seem that sugar is EVIL for your body.

So, I'm going to conduct a 3 week experiment on myself. I've never known myself to be allergic to wheat or gluten but what happens if I completely take it out of my diet for 3 weeks? Hmmm... Will I have more energy? Will getting fit present an easier fit? I'm going to find out.

What happens if I take out sugar 100% (other than what's in the fruits and veggies)? Hmm... I've done it before but let's see how I feel now (especially with the coffee gone- sob, sob!).

So it's Day 1 of NO wheat, gluten, dairy, sugar, and, oh yeah, coffee and I'm feeling kinda light headed, kinda wierd. I'm not sure if it's a good wierd or a bad wierd but I'm missing the coffee and I'm missing the sugar big time. The wheat and gluten, not so much. So... hmmm... let's see where my body takes this.

Beginning a New Journey... Autism and Divorce

Last Sunday, my life changed.

There wasn't much on TV so I turned to CSPAN. I'm not much of a C-SPAN fan but a hearing on autism was taking place and I wanted to see what was going on.
As everyone knows, the debate about funding for autism research is HUGE. Not only the funding but the provision and future of children who have autism. How are we, as a country, preparing to train and care for these children who will soon be adults? How are we supporting the families dealing with autism? The questions are numerous and while most of the hearing was about requests for funding, research and support, one of the speakers said something that completely astounded me: families dealing with autism have over an 85% divorce rate.

I'm a predivorce strategist and I work with clients daily on developing pre-divorce exit plans, scenarios, and everything leading up to making the final decision of whether to stay or go. So when I heard that there's an OVER 85% divorce rate among families with autism, it blew me away... and it changed my life.

I did my research. I looked for books on autism and divorce. I went to Amazon.com. NADA, nothing, no books talking about this all important issue.

Divorce is hard enough by itself but I couldn't imagine going through a divorce when dealing with autism. So now I'm on a mission. I'm going to write a book on autism and divorce, not promoting divorce but promoting the support, strategy, and coping strategies that any family dealing with autism need not only to survive together but to thrive together. If you know any married couple (happily or unhappily married) who have children with autism and they'd be willing to interview with me, please let me know. My goal is to interview over 500 couples for the book.

My new calling came to me on a Sunday from C-SPAN. It's amazing how God works...
If you'd like to interview with me, send me an email at thepredivorcestrategist@gmail.com

There's No Room for 'Try'

I'm up this morning, earlier than I would've liked to have been, bright eyed, bushy tailed and very deep in thought. What am I thinking about? Greatness.

I'm thinking about my own greatness, that it's in me, that I'm using some of it but not all of it, that I'm kind of scared of it and, yet, that I want to channel it for good... How best can I do that?

Well that answer really scares me because every time I ask that question, I get the SAME EXACT ANSWERS... and then comes the thought "Me? Who? How? When? Why?"

And then I get nothing... No answer, no angelic response, no yellow brick road, just silence.

I know what I have to do. I know what it's going to take. I know that it's in me to do it... and I'm still scared.

Here's where I have to take my own success advice, right? Feel the fear and do it anyway. Truth be told, taking a risk has never been my dilemma; staying the course has been. Rejection is never what's gotten to me in the past; doubt always has been and, for the very first time in my life, I don't care so much about the doubt. I no longer have the luxury of not staying the course.

I know what I have to do and I'm now willing to be here as long as it takes to get it done... and I'm still scared. Ahh, the beauty of being alive, to feel what we feel and still keep it moving!

As the wise Yoda has said, "Do or do not. There is no try!"