TAMTALKS

Navigating through this midlife journey and trying to retain my sense of humor.

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How Did That Make You Feel?

7/22/2014

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How did that make you feel?

I worry a lot about my appearance. I’m just at that age. I see every line, every change. Of course, I’m looking for those things when I glance in the mirror. But do others see it?  Probably not.

One of my favorite quotes these days is from Maya Angelou:

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

I’m trying to remember these words as I critique myself on my first TV interview for our new app, Tykester.  We just got featured on USAToday Tech Talk.
ttp://www.usatoday.com/videos/tech/2014/07/21/12978781/


At first, I didn’t want to watch it. What if I looked bad? What if I rambled?

It is funny how I hardly remember the interview, even though they took 20 minutes of footage. What I do remember is trying on about five different outfits that morning (you can hardly see what I’m wearing on camera). I remember trying to straighten my family photos on the wall so they would appear neat and tidy on camera (they didn’t). I remember being relieved after it was over and sinking into the couch, only to look to my immediate left and see a dust bunny hanging from the lamp I sat next to in the interview. OMG. Would that show up? (It didn’t).

Once I got over the terror of seeing my face on the screen, I started to calm down. I didn’t seem like a crazy person after all. I seemed like someone who had an answer for Moms who want to feel like they are getting a good glimpse into their child’s day while they are away at work or on a trip. 

Thank goodness I didn’t slip into my “sell it” mode that lingers from my many years in marketing.  Of course, Tykester is free for anyone who wants to download it, so that fact helps a lot.  I learned one important thing from this interview – my most important message is that I want Moms to feel better about having to leave their child in daycare, or with a nanny or babysitter.  I know it can be terrifying, no matter how much you like and trust your childcare provider.

We all need a little validation that what we are doing is good. That what we are doing feels right. So I feel good about it. And I’m glad to get the first one under my belt. 

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What don't you know?

7/2/2014

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What Don’t You Know?

We have a pinwheel as our logo at Tykester.com. It is a cheerful symbol – a bit whimsical. Makes me happy to look at it, since it conjures up playful and simpler times.

Some days, my life seems to be blowing by like the blades of a pinwheel. Faster, faster, faster – and I have the feeling I’m not keeping up.

Remember when you thought you knew it all? I swear there was a time when I was convinced you couldn’t teach me anything new.

I talk to moms everyday who feel the same way. When they were expecting their first child, they had everything planned out perfectly. What diapers they would use. What their baby would eat. Exactly how they would handle teething. They tell me that with a little nod and a sad smile, remembering how it was before life showed us that we don’t know much. It is a bit easier to be confident about the future when you are just starting out, whether it is with a career, a family, or a just a five year plan.

Then things get serious.

Balancing on that thin tightrope of work/family/health becomes a 24 hour pursuit. You lose track of who ate the peas, and who ate the cookie. Technology takes off like a rocket and you struggle to keep up. Your job gets incredibly complicated as a result and that four year old can now run circles around you when it comes to learning how to use a new app.

How is it that I am no longer the expert on anything at my house? Does anyone else consider hiding the phone charger and changing the alarm code, just so you can know something everyone else in the family doesn’t? No one is impressed anymore if I can guess all the puzzles on Wheel of Fortune TV Show, since they would rather play that game through the app on their phone.

So I don’t know much these days, except the fact that I don’t know much.
Once I accepted that fact, I was able to breathe normally again, and focus on “what can I learn today?”

It has been awhile since I was the student and not the teacher. Maybe the hardest lesson to learn is, that if I don’t know how to do something, I can call (or google, or text, or tweet) for someone to help me, because there is abundance of knowledge out there to be shared.

I don’t want to stop the pinwheel, but I can be in control of how fast I let it spin. It turns out that I’m the one blowing on it. That much, I know.


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    Unabashed redhead learning how to reinvent herself to keep up in this world. How in the world did you find me here? As long as you dropped by, you might as well stay awhile.  

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