We are! I attended a Junior League book talk for Lee Woodruff, the wife of ABC News Correspondent Bob Woodruff who suffered a brain injury in Iraq in 2003 after a roadside bomb caused him shrapnel wounds. For this discussion, however, she was promoting her new book, Perfectly Imperfect.
The book features 17 essays on different experiences she’s had throughout her life as a woman, writer, mother, daughter, sister, friend, wife, etc. From her readings, these are all stories we can identify with.
During her talk, she likened women to oranges; we are all made up of segments.
One is a wife/girlfriend, one is a daughter, one is a sister, one is a professional, one is a runner, one is a blogger, one is a caregiver, and the list goes on.
Her ideas actually pair well with the other book I’m reading now by Cokie Roberts, We Are Our Mothers Daughters.
It does a wonderful job of interspersing personal tales with historical facts about how women carry so much on their shoulders. From raising the minimum wage, to getting the vote, to becoming nurses in the Civil War, we do A LOT. In sum, we are pretty bad ass.
For example, God love my husband, but he just can’t do what I do. I am up at least an hour before him making lunches, breakfasts, doing laundry, walking the dog, work a full 10 hours, go to the gym, blog, check on friends and family throughout the day, pay our bills, blah, blah, blah. And we don’t even have kids yet!!! Again, I love him, but men really aren’t capable of multi-tasking like we are, are they? 🙂
Like this morning. I made lunches and even made this yummy breakfast. Van’s Maple Fusion Waffles with Sugar Free Syrup, Walnuts, Bananas and Cinnamon
Holy yum this had double the maple flava!
Lee also talked about her new pilot talk show that might hit the air next fall, Mom Logic. Another host is Paula Deen. LOVE her! But, she indicated that what they all didn’t know was that Ms. Kate Gosselin would be on board with this project.
She had some interesting things to say about that. I mean, Lee Woodruff has had some MAJOR life stuff happen, and is not only level headed and witty, but also incredibly brilliant and genuine. Not to say that having two sets of multiples isn’t challenging, but you get my drift without me having to come out and say it, don’t you?
I was lucky enough to meet Lee after her talk, and thank her for writing her first book, In An Instant, which documents the journey she and Bob took together toward his recovery. When I was spending many days and nights in the Trauma ICU and then later the ICU at INOVA Fairfax while my father laid in a coma for over a month, her words helped me and my family navigate our way through this new world we had just entered.
If you haven’t read her books, I highly encourage giving them a read. Also, if you have $1, donate it to The Bob Woodruff Foundation. They are trying to raise over one million dollars by Veteran’s Day for the injured men and women who have served and their families for their Stand Up for Heroes 2009. Do something good today and donate just $1.00. I bet you can find it in your couch cushions.
I didn’t get home until 9:30, so I made some quick leftovers.
Soup and Hunk ‘o Bread
Moose Tracks, mmmmm.
One of Lee’s biggest messages was her challenge to be present in two moments this week. We take so much for granted, that it’s the little things that we need to stop and appreciate what life has to offer. Play with your dog, watch your child as they sleep, look at the beauty around you while you’re on a run. Because, like it or not, one day, shit’s going to hit each of our fans (we are all going to lose our parents at some point, we will have break-ups, we will have tragedy), and while we’re strong and can deal with so much of what life hands us, it’s those little things that will help shape how we cope and move forward. And remember, we’re pretty bad ass.
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