Reboot

In November Yaya (my mom), Tathena, and I attended Time Out For Women.  Basically is a weekend filled with uplifting music and speakers that share their testimonies and how they've overcome adversities in their lives.  It was fun to see old and new friends and take a girls weekend to relax.

Tathena had been having trouble with school.  She goes to middle school for a few classes and then comes home to do Language Arts, Math, and whatever else needs to be done.  She was getting behind and not turning in her work.  She was argumentative with her brothers and just kind of seemed off.  No doubt this was due to our circumstances and not having a space of her own....and the fun moody teenage years rapidly approaching.

She had a challenge before she could go.  She had to do and turn in all her missed assignments, finish her current schoolwork, and write Travis a letter.  She worked hard for three days. 30 mins before we left for Portland, she tearfully handed Travis a heartfelt five paragraph apology/resolve-to-be-better essay. She got a bear hug from Dad and off we went.

She arrived Friday night at the conference quiet, irritated, but confident.  We went our separate ways, her to Time Out For Girls and us to Time Out For Women.

After our separate session, we met her in the lobby and she looked renewed!  She chatted all the way back to Yaya's home. She got to sleep in a warm bed, in a house, had an actual shower with decent water pressure, and use typical flushing toilet! Haha, it's the little things.  She was rebooted!  She wore a smile all weekend and it put that little spring back in her stride.

Time Out For Women did something else for me.  The Cheneys from Sweet Basil spoke.  Carrian Cheney shared her journey with Hyperemesis Gravidarum and the negativity she faced from the online community. They talked about the importance of responding with love, and how her friends were defending her online!  Their story resonated deeply with me. Even though we are going through something completely different, the obstacles and responses were the same.  At one point they felt like they needed to give up their blog, but after praying to Heavenly Father they knew they had to keep going to use it as a platform to share the gospel and their testimonies.  That is exactly what I needed to hear!  I have often thought, "What does God want us to do with what we're going through?"  Maybe this is it!  We have learned so much about faith, compassion, tolerance, grace, patience, and forgiveness.  It is time for us to share.

My mom actually nudged me and said, "You could be up there, telling your story!" Ha!

So this blog is getting a reboot!  It won't be glamorous or professional. It will be messy and sporadic. But it will be ours.  

So welcome to our reboot 💓