It was all a dream...

Connecticut…….My beautiful home state is where this dream began. In the mid 90’s I attended a Nursing Spectrum Career Fair, I remember the place was packed, new nurses, seasoned nurses, nurse managers and vendors galore. One of the speakers was a older African American woman, I really cannot recall her name or the title of her lecture, I clearly can recall her standing up there in a light brown suit, with a white dress shirt and dark brown shoes and she wore glasses…..I was taken by her lecture she spoke about nursing and the many different fields of work available for a nurse, bedside, hospice, and community nursing, just to name a few. She spoke so well, I sat there in admiration and all I could think in that moment was, I want to speak at one of these events one day……..






I work well when I’m able to be creative, I like the freedom of putting things into motion at my own pace, gathering data as needed storing things in memory and on paper as the deadline approaches. The week before my lectures at the nursing career fair, I gathered all that I had compiled and brought my presentations to life….I spent the Sunday and Monday before walking through both lectures with a timer, standing in the mirror and visualizing my audience as I spoke. I felt good Monday night, after meditating I turned in early.



Waking up Tuesday morning I was a little anxious, I was going to be using Igo car sharing and realized that construction was taking place on the expressway that would take me to Drury Lane, so I called Igo and bumped my time by 30 min, I did not want to take a chance on arriving late. It’s been a while since I’ve driven a car in Chicago…..as I hopped on I-290 I said a little prayer and cranked the tunes. It was like the music god’s knew exactly what I needed, I sang to the top of my lungs as I cruised along. I sang to Lil Wayne, Billy Idol, Al Green, Back Street Boy’s, C & C music factory, LL……I mean the list goes on!! I was feeling good! I guess all my singing landed me in Naperville, NOT in Oak Brook where I belonged…..Oh well, a quick turn around and I arrived at Drury Lane, with 30 minutes to spare.

As I walked in I felt the jitters sneak up on me, I walked into a sea of my nursing colleagues, I was overwhelmed by the amount of attendees. I made my way up to the information desk and received my name tag and information regarding the lecture hall I would speak in and a lunch ticket….I was then guided to the lecture hall. Oh my, I thought as I entered the hall, this place is HUGE! Ok, breathe I say to myself…..I find out the hall seats 500, instant knot in my throat. I’m left in this hall alone to set up, so I make my way down to the stage….this hall is beautiful, soft lighting against the deep red seats and the gold walls, I smile with each step I take. Once on stage I look out and just stand there in awe! I got this, I say out loud, as my inner self asked, are you ya sure? I’ve lead many meetings as the Nursing Council Chair at University of Chicago Hospital, but that was usually sixty people at the most and held in the hospital auditorium…..this was something on a whole ‘nother level.

Earl, the audio dude appeared out of nowhere, his appearance soothed my nerves, dude was laid back had several ear piercing, tattoos on each arm, blond spiked hair, black funky glasses, and wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, he was cool…..I hooked up my lap top, Earl then hooked me to my microphone, letting me know I would only be on when he was sitting in the booth, cool I said and the he was gone. I turned around to look at the projection screen and just stood there looking at my first presentation on the jumbo screen…..Oh my gosh, this is so real I say to myself, I’m feeling very proud of myself in that moment…I stare at that screen for a few more minutes and smile. I’m interrupted by the woman who will introduce me.

Cathy, calls out my name from the top of the stairs, as she makes her way down towards me. She’s probably in her mid fifties, wearing a coral blazer, casual black pants, and speaks with a heavy Philly accent……I love East Coast accents so her voice comforts me a little. Cathy wants to go over my bio and inform me of the procedures of the day, in the middle of our conversation Cathy calls me “kiddo” I’m not offended but I must correct her….So with a smile I say I’ll be forty three in a month so I think I’m past the kiddo stage, she laughs, and comments on how young I look….. I can tell it’s out of embarrassment but I needed to correct that. People tend to think I’m younger than my actual age and in the past it has lead to subtle disrespect or not taking me seriously, so now I correct folks…..with love of course. We sit and chat for a bit more then Cathy excuses herself and I head back onto the stage, it’s five minutes to eleven and I begin at eleven.

I want to remember these moments so I snap a few pictures of the space. As I see the nurses and nursing students begin to enter the hall, I duck behind the curtain, close my eye’s and breathe, I ground my self and breathe, I take a standing forward fold and breathe, I sand up straight and say to myself “have fun” and I walk back onto the stage. Cathy introduces me and I begin my first lecture: Revive, Renew and Rejuvenate in five minutes- yoga for nurses on the go. There are about 150-200 nurses in here ( if I had to guess )…..

The night before I talked with my sister Jean, who is a expert at presentations and she gave me some valuable tips, which came in handy. I was speaking right before lunch and the again after lunch, not easy spots, so I wanted to keep them engaged in what I was saying. I begin to notice around ten till noon people started getting up in leaving….Oh gosh, I start to feel the knot return in my throat, but I keep on, I’m at that fine line of thinking, they’re not feeling this lecture, and I’m bombing on stage….I try to ignore these thoughts, but it’s real and it’s happening….Oh, I suck, I suck, I let those words creep into my mind….but just a quick as they appear I let them go….. I keep going. At the end of my presentation I was given a standing ovation.



I stood on the stage looking out at my colleagues, smiling and clapping, I could not move…..As nurses approached the stage wanting to ask questions, I stood frozen in my place, then all of a sudden I snapped back into reality as a voice asked do you have a card. I would stand there talking to my fellow nurses for 30 minutes after my presentation…..Many stated they found the lecture inspiring and helpful, one nurse began to cry as she gave me a hug, another wanted to know if I would come speak at the hospital she worked at and another gave me her resume. I was completely overwhelmed….not in a negative way, but overwhelmed nonetheless. I answered questions, hugged and shook hands with so many, it became like a fog…a dream. Once the last person walked out of the auditorium I stood still in my place, I don’t have words for how I was feeling in that moment, I just stood there. Earl’s voice is what brought me back. He asked “do you wanna keep the mic on during lunch?" Oh, yeah, I’ll keep it on I say…..Earl then say’s “good job” I thank him, and as I head out of the auditorium I smile within, I smile so hard within my cheeks respond without notice, at the top of the stairs I turn around and look back at the stage…….I’ll be back I say.



Walking out into the main hall where all the vendors were, nurses began to approach me as I made my way to the dinning hall. Several people stopped me to say they enjoyed my lecture, one nurse said “I really enjoyed your presentation, sorry I left early, I wanted to get in line for lunch, before it got to long” I would hear that statement from many others as I walked along, and it was nice to hear. One nurse stopped gave me a big ol’ hug and told me how she always got a headache after meditation, but not this time, another wanted to know about my life in CT, and another said she felt like she knew me and that she enjoyed my keeping it real & down to earth presence.



The second lecture was on diabetes and the response at the end was a mirror of the first. I will receive feed back from nursing spectrum, the nurses all filled out evaluation forms. Many nurses were leaving the fair at the same time as I, and while pulling out of the parking garage, I had my window cracked a few nurses said “good job“, “hope you come back” others smiled and waved, as I waved back I could feel my eye’s tearing up……I turned up the music and jumped on I-290 back into the city, as Will Smith’s Summer Time blared I joined him and sang to the top of my lungs, smiling and crying at the same time….I felt good!!

I share this story for many reasons, one being I’m very proud of myself….I had this vision back in the mid 90’s , with no idea how I would get here……another reason…..this is Yogatones first big business deal. It was all a dream and now it’s reality…..I’ve trusted in myself when others doubted me, I’ve kept going even on day’s when I questioned myself, and little by little thing are falling into place. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next, but I know my vision, I’m determined to reach my goals and I’ll never stop believing in myself or my abilities to achieve and make my dreams my reality….all while practicing love, honesty and respect for another. Believe in yourself and follow your dreams is what I’m wanting to share with you…

From the words of Notorious BIG…It was all a dream

Peace