Life Hits Hard

OMG, what an experience that was!!

Life came up and hit me out of nowhere and let me be honest—I was not prepared!

I can say clearly and honestly that I failed this time. BUT…

I learned so much through this experience that I am now building myself—and all of you—a navigation guide for the next time life punches me in the gut.

A week ago today, I was miserably sick with this respiratory crap going around. So sick, in fact, that I called in sick to work on Monday. I laid around, took care of myself, and was able to open the daycare back up on Tuesday—still feeling rough, but manageable.

Tuesday evening got crazy FAST!!!

Long story short, my mom went to the ER, and they found a lot of blood clots in her lungs. They life-flighted her to the city where she could get the care she needed.

I’m going to condense things here, but my kids and I made the trip to Omaha and arrived at 1:30am. Stayed with her at the hospital until 2:30am. Went to the hotel and crashed around 3:30am. We were up by 6:45am, getting ready to head back to the hospital.

That was my third night in a row of about 3.5 hours of sleep.

Now I’m dealing with all of this stress on top of being sick myself. I was a little delirious, if I’m being honest—but I pushed through.

We all know what hospital time is like, so I don’t need to explain that.

What I will explain is how I had no plan in place for a situation like this… and my demons got loud.

My journey right now is centered around my health. Most of you know my diabetes was completely out of control when I started this 365 Days of Me journey.

And this time?

My demons overcame me.

BUT…

Instead of sitting in that, I analyzed it.

And now I have a really solid plan for the next time life decides to hit me in the gut.

I will have tools next time.

A planner. A navigation guide.

I am designing something I can use in an emergency situation like this—or even when I’m planning a trip.

A guide for any time I get shoved out of my normal routine.

And of course, I’m designing it for the 365 Days of Me program so all of you have access to these tools too.

I am SO excited to create this.

I’ve decided to make it smaller so it travels well—6×9 so you can throw it in your bag, your purse, your tablet bag… wherever.

Because this isn’t just another journal.

This is something you can actually use when life throws you out of your routine.

It’s going to have a place for you to write down local information so you’re not scrambling in the moment—things like:

• healthy places to eat nearby

• grocery stores

• walking trails

• gyms

• churches

• pet needs

• anything you might need when you’re not in your normal environment

So instead of guessing or driving 20–30 minutes trying to figure it out—you already have it.

There will be a 10-day daily check-in section to help keep your head in your journey when everything around you is chaotic.

Not long, drawn-out stuff—just enough to:

• stay aware

• check yourself

• and not completely lose track of what you’re working on

There will be space to journal if you need it—because sometimes you do need to get it out. A good brain dump, especially when you’re in the middle of something heavy.

There will be simple grounding tools and reset points—things you can actually use in real time when your mind starts going and your emotions are all over the place.

There will be a bare minimum “just do this” type of structure—so when you’re exhausted and overwhelmed, you don’t have to think… you just follow something simple to keep yourself from completely falling off.

And there will be space to go back and look at:

• what worked

• what didn’t

• what you need to adjust

So the next time life throws something at you—you’re not starting from scratch.

This is not about doing everything perfectly.

This is about having something to fall back on when nothing is normal…
so you can stay grounded, stay aware, and stay in your journey—even in the middle of real-life shit.

I honestly feel like this is the missing piece for me.

I do great when I can stay inside my routine—but the minute life throws a wrench in that, I flail and fail.

And I also struggle to get back on track after that.

So this Navigation Guide is something I am seriously excited about.

I could’ve spent 20–30 minutes on Google looking up options nearby, jotting them down, and using them when needed.

Instead, we were just going through the motions.

We drove 20 minutes back to Lake Manawa every time to eat because we knew what was there and didn’t have to think about it… and then 20 minutes back again.

That alone is exhausting.

After this idea hit me, I started Googling—and found a Village Inn less than a mile and a half away.

I know Omaha like the back of my hand.

I don’t know Council Bluffs at all.

Sick, exhausted, and overwhelmed—it never even occurred to me to Google. I was just on autopilot.

My demons got louder as I got more depleted and more out of my routine—and I lost the battle.

But that’s what made me stop and really look at the situation.

What happened.
Why it happened.
And what I need next time.

And that’s where this Navigation Guide was born.

I committed to this 365 Days of Me journey—and I am bound and determined to succeed.

This guide is going to support some of my weakest spots…

…and I cannot wait to get it designed.