Is This Insane? Maybe not.

I can build a website. I’ve never done it before, but I’m sure I can figure it out. And I did! It wasn’t the snazziest website you’ve ever seen, but I did it! And then I hit a roadblock–I couldn’t figure out how to get my security certificate installed. I spent several hours researching the problem, reading, watching YouTube videos, but I could not get it to work. So, I reached out to my best friend, who happens to be an IT genius.

Uh, y’all. There’s two different versions of WordPress. Like Honda/Acura or Toyota/Lexus but less obvious. Apparently wordpress.com and wordpress.org are NOT the same thing. I don’t know that I would have EVER uncovered this difference between the two organizations. One is for career developers, the other one is for people like me–totally green, zero experience, and just needing a page on the internet as a starting place.

How many hours did I waste that day? Moreover, how many tears did I cry that day? Time and tears I can never get back, but were a good lesson learned: trust my well vetted experts. When I trust my experts I trust my results, and I know that I’m going to be much closer to the solution I need then when I’m totally out of my league and on my own.

Thank goodness for friends like Tabatha and her wisdom. Before we ended our conversation that night she reminded me, “Angela. This is why your private practice is so important: people NEED your expertise, no matter how good their internet research skills are.”

And she’s right. I know this because I am not only an SLP, but I love someone with aphasia. My mother has aphasia because of a brain tumor, and while I am a highly skilled neuro SLP, I have to be her daughter first. And that means making sure my clinical knowledge and skills don’t get in the way of loving her. But, my mother has aphasia and she will always have aphasia plus TBI-like challenges due to the nature of her brain cancer.

Because of my training and experience I don’t have to wish I had someone to help me figure out how to best support her.

I don’t want anyone to wish they had help. I want to help. I can, and I will.

So, here I am. Putting myself out into the world. Helping families, one at a time, rebuild their sense of wholeness, their feelings of positive flow, and their strong foundations through aphasia coaching, TBI education, and learning how to communicate again.