It's Gonna Be Alright....

 

As my head swirled with negative thoughts of "What if's" I told myself to stop and shift the "What if's" to positive outcomes. On August 5, Tom was given a Performance Improvement Plan at work. He had been working day and night after having had an adverse reaction to the COVID vaccine. He planned to get the vaccine on his vacation but they told him he had to postpone his vacation. He couldn't postpone his 2nd shot and worked when he should have taken time to rest. He was also called back early from his vacation to work the evening before he was to return to work. 

He made errors that were uncharacteristic for him and exaggerated because of the extraordinary stress everyone experienced. Management didn't check in with him to see what was going on. Instead they "wrote him up" and gave him a warning that if he did not follow the PIP and immediately improve, he would be fired!

Fortunately his vacation started the next week.  As Divine Timing would have it, our son Autumn and his partner Michelle were coming to town on August 11th to celebrate the twins' birthday. Team McManus had a meeting and unanimously decided it was time for Tom to retire.We had savings and were totally confident that he could get a low key job somewhere to supplement retirement and social security. The "Big Quit" can be as infectious as COVID and we decided that life is too short to suffer in a work environment. Autumn and Tom got very excited about a dream they've had for several years to have their own technology consulting company.

Last week, there was a meeting scheduled with a top manager on his calendar. "What if they are going to ask you to stay?" {Note how this was quite a shift from what if they tell you to leave early without pay?} "I'm not going to do it," Tom said. We ignored the 'dreadlines' about an uncertain economy trusting that the technology sector is in dire need of talent.

I thought of the Helen Keller quote about security, "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure."

The meeting was rescheduled and then canceled. He received a call at 8:30am on Friday morning informing him that his access had been terminated.  We were very confused and tried to discern what he was being told. Because he had a high security clearance, they could not let him finish out his last week. The manager reassured us that as far as HR was concerned, nothing about his September 17th end date had changed.

My heart raced for a bit until we were able to process that this was standard operating procedure and had been done with another employee when he left several months ago. He would get his pay for the week but did not have to work! Wow!  It felt like the total grace for all the extra hours he worked and stress he endured. It was a bit unsettling that he no longer had access to his email but texts from his co-workers let him know what they had been told by management; that Tom was leaving on good terms and they had to do this for the sake of computer security.

I am in awe of how we mobilized since we made the decision that it was time for Tom to retire from his current position and the magic of the Universe creating miracles at every turn.  

Health insurance, dental insurance and a new laptop came together with ease. Once he posted his resume, his phone rang off the hook. We prepared both a tech and a non-tech resume. We thought he would do contract work if he stayed in technology or get a job where he could use his incredible interpersonal, customer service and administrative skills.

Plot twist! He has one job offer and is close to getting another offer. He planned on taking the first offer when he had a 2nd interview for a job at another company. He wasn't going to take the interview but it was with a former co-worker from years ago and he was planning to just catch up. The Universe is full of surprises. It was as though no time had passed and the person with whom he interviewed who would be his co-worker said that he would LOVE to work with Tom again. They are expediting the interview process and Tom will have his choice of where he wants to work. Even though he is almost 70 years old, he loves technology, innovation and being part of a collaborative team. Unfortunately, he got burned out and temporarily lost his passion.

What we thought was the worst thing that could have happened to an almost 70 year old man transformed into the best thing that could have happened for spiritual growth for all of us as well as feeling the power of being able to stand up for what is right and true.

We knew it was time for Tom to leave his old job given the physical symptoms he was experiencing from the stress and the reaction to the vaccine but we thought he could just 'hang in there' for several more months while retirement continued to build and COVID subsided. We couldn't have imagined that he would secure another job with benefits for however long he wants to work and to be able to work remote even after the pandemic is under better control.

His health issues have all resolved and the severe back pain he experienced has healed. He feels more vibrant and better than he has in a few years.

We rode a lot of wild waves of emotions these past several weeks intensified by the continued rise in COVID cases. There is continued divisiveness around vaccines and mask mandates. I harness the power of my faith holding a vision of health, healing and well-being for my family, my community, my country and the global community that it's gonna be alright!

 

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary

My books to uplift and inspire you are available on Amazon.

Visit my website to learn more about my journey of transformation in the wake of paralytic polio and trauma to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.

Be sure to visit my News and Events tab on my website to hear interviews that will open your heart and mind to a powerful message of healing, hope and possibilities.

A Shot in the Arm

 

As I shared in Fear or Faith, my daughter and I struggled with my decision about whether or not to receive the vaccine to help end the pandemic. Last Sunday, Ruth Anne and Tom went to Gillette Stadium where Ruth Anne received her first shot of Moderna. Her brother and his girlfriend, and our friends on social media celebrated with us. 

On Tuesday, Tom had his 2nd Pfizer shot at Mass. General Hospital at Assembly Row, and I was on deck for my first shot on Wednesday at Mass. General Hospital/Brigham.

I was blessed to receive two signs that I made the right decision to move ahead with the vaccine:

 I found a dime on our run and then later that day saw a post on Twitter about the anniversary of when the Salk vaccine was approved in 1955.

 

 

As a good runner gets ready for an event, I hydrated and fueled and got myself mentally prepared for the 'event.' I visualized how I wanted things to go from start to finish.

We went on a run to start the day and the weather was glorious!

There was no traffic and we arrived a few minutes before my appointment. We found a parking space with ease after being given masks by the attendant as we entered the parking garage.

We were directed to Station #5 where we were warmly greeted by Emily. As she took my information, I became tearful. 'This is quite emotional for me,' and I explained that I contracted polio in one of the last epidemics in 1959.

She exuded compassion from every fiber of her being. She shared with us that being able to work in the vaccine clinic has been a God send. She is pregnant with twins. We shared our experience as parents of boy/girl twins and I relaxed.

"I believe some people are just sent my way," she said. 

As we finished the pre-vaccine interview, she asked me which arm I wanted to use. She came up behind me because she's a lefty. 

"You're going to feel so much better after this. Just think about all the things you are going to be able to do once you're fully vaccinated."

What an incredible intention to set as she gave me the vaccine focused on, as she said, "only good energy here."

While we waited for 15 minutes, I cried tears of joy and a feeling of strength and courage surge through me saying, "I did it!"

One of my dear friends from our running club commented on the photo's Facebook post, "Brave girls lead the way."

Emily was an earth angel who gave me a shot in the arm as we all work together to end this pandemic and joyfully move forward in our lives.

Fear or Faith from Hope is a  Garden: Poems and Essays From the 2020 Pandemic":

 

Invisible to eye yet a powerful force

one comes from our mind the other from Source.

Counting blessings and feel gratitude deep in heart

although from our loved ones we must keep apart.

 

Riding waves of emotion we've never known before

the rhythm of our lives shaken to the core.

What do we believe how to feel hope and grace

in the midst of the darkness much adversity to face.

 

When we get out of head let peace settle in soul

faith lights the way the path to feeling whole.

Guardian angels feel gift of presence surround

treasures in these moments can always be found.

 

Friendships rekindled tapestry of love woven tight

trusting and knowing we all are all right.

Believing in something the eye cannot see

choosing faith from our fear now sets us free.

  

From my heart to yours

In health and wellness 

Mary

For more information about my journey from childhood polio and trauma to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond, visit my website.

 

"Hope is a Garden:Poems and Essays From the 2020 Pandemic" along with all of my books to inspire and uplift you is available on Amazon.

Believing is Seeing

 

On the road to the 2009 Boston Marathon we received many signs in the form of finding money during our training runs. I visualized our success on Marathon Monday and believed with every fiber of my body that I would successfully cross that finish line.

 

Last year, while waiting for the results of the election in November, we found an array of change in the street on a run. It gave us hope that it was, in fact, time for a change in Washington and that the tide was going to turn for better days ahead.

 

The day before we found that change, I wrote this poem included in Hope is a Garden: Poems and Essays From the 2020 Pandemic:

 

Believing is Seeing

 

Worry and fearing thoughts filled with fret

believe what you’ll see on positive thoughts be set.

Imagine the outcome feel joy be daring bold

release all the dread a new vision to hold.

 

Remember the Power Source ignites hope and light

the beautiful story created is well within sight.

Our loving true nature must now prevail

with grit determination and faith through adversity we sail.

 

A beautiful sunset or a penny that’s found

signs of the Presence in abundance surround.

Believing is seeing feel lightness and free

let go and surrender as you abide with Me.

 

Join together connect with those who feel as you do

whatever the outcome you’ll always get through.

A tsunami of hope swells over the land

washing out painful memories like the tide with the sand.

 

A new day is dawning believe and you’ll see

power to create the outcome you wish it to be.

Smile rejoice give thanks let peace now descend

whatever’s been rendered is time now to mend!

 

I remembered the phrase, “or a penny that’s found” after we found the change and was able to feel my soul settle during the tumultuous days following the election.

 

I’ve been feeling unsettled about my vaccine appointment coming up this Wednesday. Ruth Anne received her vaccine yesterday and other than a sore arm feels great. We did a lot of meditation and mind/body prep work leading up to her appointment. Tom, our son Autumn, his girlfriend Michelle and many of our friends have received the vaccine and their joy far exceeded any mild side effects they may have experienced. In my previous blog post, Fear or Faith, I share how I experienced “vax hesitancy” and how I resolved it.  Temporarily stepping back into the medical model to receive a vaccine is an emotional experience yet I also know will be a way to end the pandemic.

 

On this morning’s run, I spotted a dime in the middle of the street.

 It’s dated 2020 and as Tom was quick to point out, 2020 was a year akin to the polio epidemics. What comfort I felt seeing FDR’s face on the dime along with Liberty, and on the back, “A torch that stands for liberty, an olive branch that stands for peace, and an oak branch that stands for strength and independence.” Receiving the vaccine is a way for us to once again experience our liberty. E pluribus unum: out of many, one. Despite all of the divisiveness during the past four years, there is a powerful sense of unity around emerging victorious from the pandemic.

 

I am always in awe of how I’ve been touched by grace from an early age.  I just happened to log onto Twitter today and this was the first item in my feed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Believing is seeing; seeing beyond appearances and having faith in positive outcomes. I believed in my ability to heal my life from polio and trauma despite all appearances to the contrary. I believed in my ability to run the Boston Marathon even though I had never run a day in my life. And today, as I briefly revisited my struggle about vax hesitancy, I was reminded by the Divine to have faith and believe seeing a world healed from the COVID-19 Pandemic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From my heart to yours

In health and wellness 

Mary

For more information about my journey from childhood polio and trauma to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond, visit my website.

 

"Hope is a Garden:Poems and Essays From the 2020 Pandemic" along with all of my books to inspire and uplift you is available on Amazon.