Tiara Me Sue

Something happened at work the other day that made me smile … cry … feel … think. Before I can even begin to talk about this particular event I have to convey a bit of backstory first, to highlight the significance of its impact in a few key areas of my own self-awareness: connections, judgment, time, music, and probably a few other peripherals.  (It might be a good idea to have a second cup of coffee lined up.) As a chauffeur, I meet a lot of people. In this business, discretion and privacy are a big thing; I’m not supposed to talk about clients. In this case, I’m not so much talking about a client, but a special interaction between me and another person. The chauffeur’s job is only to get people where they want to go. We are not encouraged to talk to our clients, but can if they are the ones to initiate conversation. It can be a bit of a fine line to not talk about anything personal, because sitting in a car alone with someone can bring up surprising subjects - maybe...

We all know the saying, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” Susan Jeffers wrote a book with that title - and I acknowledge the synchronicity of our shared name as I struggle with this particular idea. I have encountered very few instances where I have felt (or maybe acknowledged feeling) actual fear. I’ve reached a point where I learned that most of the fears I grew up with were excuses I used to limit myself (I am fortunate that out of my many issues, common phobias are not included). After that realization, I’ve been able to temper down the initial more-balls-than-brains reaction to something more like reasonable caution. My “I’m a Writer” announcement to my little corner of the world a few years ago was a big deal for me, but more about my tiring of my own self-denial than overcoming the fear of ‘coming out’ as a writer – after 39 years, squashing that side of me finally got to me. While that may sound like a silly thing to be afraid of, I was afraid. I came to understand...