Find Your Courage and Go For It!

About a month ago I was watching CBS This Morning and heard they were asking for submissions for their segment Note to Self (a wonderfully inspiring segment I’ve always enjoyed). I wrote and submitted mine later that day – before I lost my nerve ;)! It was a 250 word (no more!) note of what I would say to my younger self.

I opened my email a few weeks later and had a note from a CBS This Morning producer – she said they’d received my submission and wanted more info, could I talk later that day? Uh yes, I can talk now or any time you want to talk! I replied back and later that day she called.

We talked for almost an hour. She explained that they’d received a ton of entries and were calling the authors of those that they thought would be a good fit. She made it clear that I had not won yet and that they would be doing a background check, would look at my social media, etc. I have no idea if they called and spoke to 5, 50 or 500 people but I can tell it this, it was so nice to talk with her and share my memories with her. She asked me about each part of my entry and asked me to send photos that related to each one and she asked for a link to the post “Mom, Can We Talk?” and my follow up piece featured on LoveWhatMatters.com - lovewhatmatters.com/10-things-that-helped-when-my-son-told-me-he-had-depression.

She asked if I was available over the next 3 weeks if they sent a crew to film me reading my submission – um, yes! Other than visiting my son on the weekend, I told her I could reschedule anything else and be available! She said she would let me know in about 7-10 days if I’d won…

Then I continued to wait…

Then they reached out yesterday – another producer had additional questions and they wanted 2 family/friends they could speak to for “background”. I spoke to her and provided the contact info they needed. I started thinking, if this is an interview process for a job, we’re almost at the “You’re hired!” part! More waiting…

I just found out that my submission did not win (Although they said they haven't made their final decision - it felt a little like asking for the deal and your client saying "I'll call you when we decide...") I'll admit I'm very bummed but it was such a great experience – we talked in depth about the post “Mom, Can We Talk?”, and I hope perhaps they’ll make a story of it. Depression is silent epidemic and this could really help bring it to light! We’ll see…

Thank you to my husband, TJ for always believing in me and supporting me and for encouraging me - okay, pushing me out there - to write! And to Grown and Flown and lovewhatmatters.com for publishing my writing and for all of you who have read and shared my posts - you are an amazing source of support!

Please keep sharing it - so many need to know it's okay to talk about depression and to read our message of hope!

What a wonderful experience – you never know where life will take you...