Welcome to Time to Breathe. Since the spring of 2011, I have been entrusted with a big job; to fill my mother’s shoes as writer for this website. I am only honored and thrilled to continue this legacy. After thinking about the direction I wanted to take with the website, I simply thought about what made her so endearing to her readers. She was honest and she shared a part of herself in her writings. Instead of pretending like I am my mother, with the same life experiences, writing about the same things. I simply need to draw on my own life and be honest about what I’ve learned. That genuine sharing will make my writings unique from hers, but hopefully just as helpful to readers. I know that my mother touched others deeply through this site, even people she had never met. I hope to do the same and continue to inspire others to fill their lives with meaning and joy.

For those interested in the life events from which I draw in my writing, I will share a bit about myself. I graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in Communication and continued on to receive my M.A. in Occupational Therapy also from USC. I always felt like I was following in my mother’s footsteps in terms of work/life balance as occupational therapy helps others live balanced and meaningful lives despite any kind of health barrier. Outside of academics, I have been an athlete my entire life, competing on the women’s USC track and field team as a heptathlete and serving as co-captain my senior year. Alongside sports, I have always been an artist. My parents had the goal of parenting in order to produce creative children, and they certainly accomplished that goal. I love using my creativity, whether it be in the visual arts, cooking a meal, or writing. I thank my mother for my creativity every day.

When my mother became sick, it gave me the opportunity to take a step back from the very fast-paced life to which I had become accustomed. I desperately needed a break from the monotonous hamster wheel of life on which I had found myself: chasing goals that were beyond comprehension, chasing degrees, and chasing happiness in all the wrong places. I dropped everything and for the first time I had no plan, a frightening place for me at the time. Yet the transition was the best blessing of my life. Now, instead of filling my days with relentless busyness, I fill my days with meaning. I have devoted much of my life to a deep spiritual practice, including daily meditation. As is only an expectation when one loses someone dear to them. I have realized that this life is precious and should be used to benefit others. My only hope is that my mother’s creativity, lust for life, and wish to help others lives on through me in the writings I share with you.

Take care,

Lindsay