Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

Thanks to a wonderful nomination package prepared by the SPARC BC (Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia), Darrell and I had the pleasure of attending the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards on Wednesday evening at the posh Westin Bayshore in downtown Vancouver.

In part of the 11-page nomination package, SPARC BC’s Communication Manager Lindsay Hindle wrote:

Her “go for it” personality filters down to all people, with or without disabilities. Glenda embodies technology. Not only does she lead the way in finding what new technology is out there, but she shares what she learns through her presentations, interactions with others, in her book, and on her website. Technology is such a critical aspect of her life as it has opened new doors of communication. Her blog that she maintains inspires the community by letting her readers in her daily life living with a physical disability and severe speech impairment. Through her blog, she educates people on creative opportunities of how to work through the barriers that some communities place on people with disabilities.…There is room on her site to open up discussion about these issues under a warm and welcoming environment so that barriers can be confronted and broken down, resulting in an increase of people with disabilities participating in community life.

Isn’t Lindsay marvelous with words!

Following the advice from the brilliant Liz Strauss, who is definitely a Woman of Distinction herself and who told me to “Tell your story and get out your message by talking about them…not you,” I prepared my 1-minute acceptance speech. Unfortunately I did not get to use my speech Wednesday evening; I was not the award recipient in the Community Building category. Instead, I’d like to share it with you, my community. Feel free to have a listen or a read below:

I would like to thank the Social Planning and Research Council of BC for the kind nomination and the YWCA for the honour.

I have learned three lessons about community building from all of you. First, that we all have causes we are passionate about; for me, its building an internet accessible to all. Second, when building a community centered on our passion, we have challenges to solve and goals to reach for. My challenge is getting people to understand the importance of an accessible internet. Lastly, building a community is not accomplished by one, but rather by working together and supporting each other’s strengths. Having enthusiastic supporters for web accessibility is such a blessing!

For these lessons, I thank you all.

Earlier that afternoon, after I had boarded the Skytrain to downtown, a TransLink staff reached around from the doorway and handed me a white rosebud. I have no idea why. Something in that moment moved him to do so. Although being an award recipient would have been quite an honour, sometimes its the small recognitions that are most meaningful.

Smile! You never know when a stranger may hand you a rose for being who you are.

This morning I was supposed to appear for jury duty at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster. To be honest, I have been waiting years for the opportunity to serve on a jury. Since taking Law 11 in high school, I had an interest in the legal system. A tiny piece of me desired to be a lawyer; the rest of me pointed out how much work that tiny piece would have to do. Serving on a jury would provide me one perspective of the legal system.

However, after much deliberation, I chose to play my “physical infirmity incompatible with the discharge of the duties of a juror” card. Did I take the easy route out? Quite possibly. Do I feel guilty about it? No, not overly.

The past few months, particularly May, have been extremely busy for me. I am hoping I can fulfill my next two commitments before breaking! I definitely don’t need to add jury duty.

Proving I can do something is one thing; saying “No, thanks” when my plate is overflowing is something else, yet can be equally empowering. Because when one door opens, it doesn’t necessarily means passing through is a must. Sometimes walking on by is fine.

Besides, being summons to criminal court, I envisioned serving on a jury for one of the many gang-related murders. With my red scooter sticking out in a crowd, would that make me an easy target? I can do without that kind of drama in my life!

If accused individuals can use mental insanity to shirk responsibility, should the innocent be able to gracefully bow out of commitments for mental (and physical) health’s sake without fear of any retribution, perceived or otherwise? What say you?

Thursday, April 30th, was my first full day in Chicago. My intention was to go find Harpo Studios; I had mapped the nearly 2-mile route using Google before leaving home. But it was raining! And I didn’t have my rain poncho with me.

I ducked out for breakfast at a bakery cafe that I had found the previous night while searching for a place for supper. Being alone in a strange city without a clue where to eat was somewhat unnerving. I’ve never been so relieved to find a Subway restaurant open!

After breakfast, the heavens opened up! I dashed back to the hotel lobby and pretended to read the USA Today – like I was interested in hearing yet more about swine flu or H1N1 virus or whatever they were calling it.

Watching the rain through the large windowed wall, I decided to make a break for it when the rain slowed to a drizzle. I didn’t come all this way to stay inside, watching the rain fall; that was something I could do at home.

I headed out with the intention of buying a cheap rain poncho. Surely, a luggage store or a Target or Walmart or something like that would have one. I headed west. I guess I wasn’t on the right street because I found no such store. I kept heading west, ignoring the drizzle.

Another decision was made when I came to the Randolph Street bridge: keep going! I knew I was heading in the right direction for Harpo Studios; I just wasn’t sure how far North Carpenter Street was. And, I didn’t want to stop to pull out my map. Nothing screams tourist more than wandering around with a Google map!

The further west I went, the worst the sidewalk became. What the heck do Chicagoans do to their sidewalks? They were all cracked, broken and uneven. They were a stark contrast from the sidewalks on the eastside – nicely maintained and fantastic curb cuts.

Bumping down one curb cut, one of my backup light covers popped out, which has never happened before. With traffic whizzing by, I wasn’t stopping to pick up a piece of plastic.

I now understood why President Obama is creating jobs by pouring money into infrastructure improvements. Some of those uneven cracks are lawsuits waiting to happen! Wheeling along Randolph, the sidewalk became impassable – and the area was becoming even more questionable.

I backtracked half a block and turned up West Michigan Boulevard – much better in terms of sidewalk and perceived personal safety.

A couple of more blocks and I spotted it on the opposite corner: Harpo Studios! Just then the sun briefly peeked through and I had a moment on the corner of West Michigan and North Carpenter.

After admiring Oprah for years, I was now outside of the hub of the action! The one thing I admire most is how she has built her own media empire and how she uses cross-media promotion to keep it all going. I’d love to hear more about her business side of things and how she fits in everything. At what point did she start hiring people for help? What was her first big break?

I wheeled around the entire building, drinking in the moment.

People were lining up at the audience door for a taping. I was so tempted to try to get in, but I doubted I’d get far without a ticket. Besides, I looked like a drown rat and I was meeting deaf mom Karen Putz back at the hotel lobby at 3pm. I would have had no way to let her know I would be late because I was at an Oprah show taping. Next year! I was quite content with the experience I was having.

Heading in the direction of the front door, not that I was planning on going in (I’m not that brave!), I saw a uniformed man walking a shaven cocker spaniel. Sadie? Just then Gayle King stepped out of a limo, greeted Lady Sadie and entered the building. Damn, she IS tall! Ok, stay calm. Breathe.

I turned my attention to Sadie who was right there! The uniformed dog-walker indicated that she was looking to do her business – on the tiniest patch of grass. (Grass in inner Chicago is extremely sparse.) Otherwise, I’m sure I would have patted her – we were that close together. (Later, I thought I perhaps should have tried handing a copy of my autobiography to the dog-walker. Oh well.)

I left the adorable puppy do her thing and headed off to find Oprah’s Boutique in the next block. Much to my surprise, the store was on a corner that did not have a curb cut -  the only corner without a curb cut that I encountered on my pilgrimage. There was a nice wide ramp up to the store, but no curb cut to cross the street. I had to go along the street to the next curb cut and then backtrack a block to boutique. I understand that Oprah is not responsible for city works. However, surely some money could be found in that neighbourhood so that fans on wheels can safely get from Harpo Studios to Oprah’s Boutique.

Once inside the boutique, I was amazed by the selection available. Another way Oprah has monetized her brand! With limited space in luggage, I chose one t-shirt with a subtle O – purple, of course!

Content and satisfied, I headed back to Hotel 71 with enough time to towel dry before meeting Karen in the lobby.

People were amazed by my venture. Many of them had been to Chicago a few times or live in the area, yet had never taken time to do what I had done.

People, we live only once. Live without any regrets!

Oprah, I will be back in Chicago next May. I look forward to meeting you!

“Middle Class Family Loses Everything” scream the headlines across the world.

Times are tough for many right now. People  are losing their jobs and their homes in record numbers. Uncertainty about what lies ahead looms.

Having lived through my parents’ struggle with the 18% mortgage interest rate in the mid-1980s and selling our home just before the bank foreclosed, I understand how stressing these times are for thousands of families.

But I take exception with statement that people “have lost everything”. They may have lost every possession, every thing. But they still have much. They still have their education, skills, knowledge, experience, expertise. They still have their grace, compassion, empathy and the capacity to love. Those things cannot be taken away or lost.

Stop reading for a moment and acknowledge all that you have right now: your heart is pumping blood, you are breathing, you have the ability to perceive and comprehend these words. What else do you have right now, in this moment? How wealthy do you feel, in this moment?

How you handle the next moment is your choice. You can choose to dwell on what you don’t have, on what is not going right in your life. Or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again, using your wealth on hand. The choice is yours. Which do you choose?

Many moons ago, my only roles were daughter, sister, friend and student. With my particular cerebral palsy, every task in daily life takes extra effort and energy, and my pool of energy is finite. When I use energy in one task,  I have less for the next one. In fact, my speech therapist disliked when physio was scheduled first. I always arrived to her therapy room with my energy zapped.

In high school, I didn’t take a full course load so that I could keep up with the work load. Grades 11 and 12 took me three years to complete – something I wasn’t thrilled about, but it was the only way I could keep up without being completely drained and while still maintaining decent grades. That 8.75 hours for the Algebra 12 provincial and scholarship exams was brutal!Summers were for recovering and relaxing.

Next came university while living on campus, alone. For the most part, I received only four hours of homemaking assistance per week. The cooking, daily cleaning and paying bills became my responsibility, as well as being a student. Yet I wasn’t given any extra energy. Semester breaks were spent sleeping and vegging. By taking one or two courses per semester, including summer semesters, I completed my Bachelors of Arts in seven years, barely sane.

Since then, I have added the roles of wife, homeowner, aunt, in-law, author, book promoter, blogger, solopreneur, volunteer treasurer, mentor and countless other roles that escape me at the moment. Yet I still working with that same finite pool of energy. That line about exercising creates energy is pure bunk!

Several times in recent years I have felt that I was drowning, that I couldn’t keep up, that no matter how late Into the night I worked, it wasn’t enough.

Last week I was hitting that point again. Inhaling my two squares of dark chocolate was becoming earlier and earlier in the afternoon, and even that wasn’t doing the trick. I was tired and completely drained. The mere thought of attending the day and a half long Board meeting, for which I’m the Treasurer, brought on a nap!

The next three months are extremely full and busy (for my energy levels) and I cannot get sick now, which tends to happened when I am over tired. After talking with Mom and my friend, and tormenting myself for a few days with indecision, I decided to submit my Treasurer’s report and regrets via email, and I bailed on the Board meeting!

I thought I would spend the weekend feeling guilty for not honoring my volunteer commitment. But, instead, I felt freed!

I went offline from Friday afternoon until mid-afternoon today. No emailing, no blogging, no tweeting, no googling for three days!

Conquering Mount Laundry and finishing reading February’s issue of O Magazine in February were my accomplishments this weekend. And, that was enough for me! Reading in bed during the day felt so luxurious.

I realized that I could spend 24/7 at my computer, writing, networking, strategizing, mentoring and still not get done everything I want to, ought to and need to. But, really, is that a well-balanced and meaningful life? Is that the most efficient use of my finite energy?

I realized that the ebook on web accessibility for bloggers may not be ready to launch at SOBCon 09 – business school for bloggers in May in Chicago. Although that would be disappointing, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I would survive!

I realized that there are other things I would like to do that aren’t done at the computer. My spider plant is finally having babies. I’d like to pot them and then macreme a hanging pot holder for my mother-in-law for Christmas. I haven’t macremed in years! I’d like to spend time with my local friends. I’d like to go on outings with my aunt now that she has electric scooter and is independently mobile again.

I’d like to have a part of my life that is lived away from my computer. I’d like to have a life where I don’t feel like I am constantly struggling to keep up.

For now, I realize I am tired. I am going to publish this post and go to bed. Everything else can wait until tomorrow. G’night and sweet dreams!