As I packed up my Oscar dress this morning that I got from Rent The Runway I have to admit I was rather sad. I had SUCH a blast this year and it really got me emotional to take the time to look back on where we were at this time last year.
Now let me start out by stating that we did NOT go to the actual Oscars. Believe me we WILL get there someday but just not yet. Every year for the past three years we have attended a red carpet event at our local movie theatre. It is a charity event for Variety. They have a red carpet and a photographer. There is raffles and we also get our very own swag bag :). We watch the Oscars on the big movie screen and it’s a blast!
So now that you know it’s not the actual event I wanted to take this time to look back on how far we’ve come. Pictured on the left (the red dress) is us at the event last year (2013). You know the year that changed everything! If you’ve read my blog before you know that in this picture my husband Eric (the handsome man next to me in the James Bond tux) had just had open heart surgery 20 days before. He had an LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) placed on his heart to help it pump. He had a machine running his heart in that picture (the devices battery pack was cleverly tucked away behind the suit). He had walked with a cane and we had to take the stairs to our seats very slow.
That brings me to the emotional moment I had when returning my beautiful dress I wore to this years (2014) Oscar event (pictured on the right). Same man, same awesome looking tux but no chords attached. No battery pack to hide, no cane to walk with. We have come SO very far from last year. I could have never guessed that so much could have changed. Last year we were worried about changing batteries and walking at a very slow pace. This year all we were worried about is if our favorite movie or leading actor or actress was going to come out on top. We were blessed with only having to have fun this year because just 5 short days after the Oscars last year we received the call that the donor heart was available.
I will end on this note. I often get told / asked ‘how do you do it’ or ‘you’re simply so strong’ ‘I couldn’t handle it if I were you’ Those statements and everything we’ve been through helped me name my team name ‘inspire’ Life is all about three things to me now. It’s about living, it’s about loving and it’s about inspiring. Never miss the opportunity to do all of them. Live, Love, Inspire.
To top off the amazing evening we had last night watching Ellen do an awesome job and getting to see one of my all time favorite singers Miss Bette Midler sing (and make me cry…….a lot), we even won an Oscar ourselves for ‘Best Dressed Group’ 🙂 I can’t wait to see what life brings me next year!
