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Writer's pictureTree Marino

And Yet I Rise

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly;

A 2019 Recap

Before I bounce into the New Year, New You routine, I find it helpful to recap my year in review. It is tempting to either ignore all the bad and celebrate the good. It is easy to get lost in the bad moments day to day. However, it is the year as a whole that has made me the person I am today, and Momma Moon the business it is at present. So today, we recap ALL of it.

I started out 2019 with a BOLD GOAL, a goal to achieve success. Success as I defined it, but I was still defining success by other people’s standards. So for 2019 I defined success by financial means. I sat down and I tallied up my bare minimum that I could survive on. That created my floor of a minimum of 10 massages a week. And that was 10 PAID massages a week, no trades included. But IF I wanted to THRIVE I needed 20 massages a week. And I was laser focused on getting 10 massages a week. And some weeks I did. Yet, I never reached my goal.

The Good

I was present for the BIRTHS of 2 BEAUTIFUL Baby Boys this year. Mommas (they identify as female and Moms) you know who you are. Thank you for allowing me to be present at such a vulnerable and life changing moment. With every birth that I witness, as well as those shared with me after the birth has taken place, I am forever changed. Witnessing humanity's GREATEST strength (the birth of family) is a blessing that I never take for granted.

I was not only a vendor at Babies & Bumps here in Rochester, I was a speaker. I wrote my course “It Takes A Village; How to Build Yours”. Despite a technology hiccup, I wrote my program in Google Docs and they needed it in a different slide show, this was a success.

Shannon Weiland, LMT invited me to join her at the Highland Lilac Festival, where we gave chair massage in the Recipe 21 VIP Tent, as well as massage for the musicians. From there we partied our summer away with the Springut Group at the weekly Party in the Park Series.

2019 marked 2.5 years spending Tuesday or Wednesday Nights at the House the Love Built and being blessed to give back to families with children at Strong Memorial Hospital.

I continued my “It Takes a Village; How To Build Yours” Classes at Abundance Co-op (hint this series is being continued at a new location in 2020), and added additional classes: Writing Your Birth Plan and How to Hire A Doula.

I was able to take the Level 1 John Barnes Theory Myofascial Release training with my unofficial business partner and friend, Suzannah Lake of Go to Health. This was possible because I had for the first time, since before college I had $2k in savings.

I had a stellar December (ALMOST FULLY BOOKED) and began offering Massage services at The Positive Force Movement.

On a personal note I realized that my kids might just be alright (despite having me for a mom), when my daughter offered up her trust fund for her brother’s top surgery so he could begin living his BEST LIFE instead of fighting with an ever changing insurance and medical landscape.

The Bad

I ended the year with less than $200 in savings. I still have no car. A record $1000 in cancellations in November (which led to my December special and a huge revelation for my 2020 business plan).

The UGLY

There were several times throughout the year that I felt a total failure, as a business person, as a massage therapist, as a Doula, as a human being. These crises of being led me to delve into what I wanted for me, for my children, for my business, for my clients.

The UGLIEST thing that happened in 2019 was my division from the Rochester Doula Community over the State’s Doula Certification Bill. This BILL was the ONLY way to expand the Medicaid Doula Program (not currently available in Rochester) to low income families in Rochester. However, I watched as many privileged (financially and socially) Doulas put their own interests and prestige (their paid for title of “Certified Doula” would no longer be good in NYS unless they wanted to pay the $40 fee and take the State Exam) ahead of the interest of low income families (the MOST in need of Doulas).

I waited all summer for the bill to be placed on Governor Cuomo’s desk, and when it finally was given to him in LATE DECEMBER he caved to the MONEY INTEREST and vetoed the BILL. His Medicaid Doula Program will die with it.

AND YET I RISE

ALL of this, the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY have contributed to my being who and where I am today. The policy changes coming to Momma Moon Massage and the honing of my practice to reflect my values are a direct result of all 3.

It is tempting to take a positivity view of the year and speak about only the good things. It is easy in the day to day to get LOST in the negative and hard times. But when you look back at the year as a whole and acknowledge that some was good, some was bad and some was downright ugly, YOU stand on the experiences ALL of that has given you and are prepared to move forward.

The only way forward is through. You might see posts encouraging to write down one good thing a day and at the end of 2020 look at all the GOOD from 2020. I encourage you to journal 1x a week or 1x month and give an honest run down. What was good, what was bad and what was ugly. Certainly, they may be times that have only good, other times that have only bad, and times that have only ugly. So far YOU and I have gotten through ALL of those times thus far, will you continue to walk with me?




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