Time is irrelevant in the pursuit of dreams
on measuring progress and not giving up
20 years
I’ve been in my current faculty position for 20 years. 20! I have so many thoughts and feelings about this fact. It doesn’t seem possible and yet when I think about all the research I’ve published, all the brilliant young scientists I’ve mentored, and the friendships and relationships I’ve built in that time…it feels about right. My research on the benefits of heat therapy for chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity has been meaningful and significant. I’ve witnessed so much change and innovation both at my medical center and on the global scale, most of it positive and in the right direction. I have no regrets. But if I could go back, I’d ask bigger, bolder questions and I wouldn’t take defeat and failure so personally.
10 years
It’s been 10 years since we discovered my mom suffers from dementia associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. 10! We’ve far exceeded the predictions and statistics in this respect. Life expectancy for women diagnosed with AD after the age of 65 is 8 years. Mom’s dementia progression has been slow. She still lives at home. She still knows who I am. We are so fortunate to have had many, many good times and memorable moments in these last ten years: my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary and both of their 80th birthdays, the arrival of my youngest niece Hartley Paige, and high school and college graduations for the older grandkids; we witnessed a national championship for KU basketball in New Orleans, and enjoyed annual trips to La Jolla together. Mom’s diagnosis helped us focus on family and making the most of the big and little moments in life. For that I am grateful.
5 years
My NIH clinical trial on Alzheimer’s Disease prevention is funded for five years. I shifted my research focus to AD prevention when my mom was diagnosed 10 yeas ago. We obtained several pilot awards to get our ideas up and off the ground, kept going through the covid years, and with incredible collaborators and a whole lot of luck, we were awarded over 2 million dollars to fund this research in 2022. We have recruited 20 individuals to this point and our ultimate goal is 60. Did you know that the rules of human studies research dictate you can’t examine the data until the entire study is complete? We have to wait five years to know if what we are doing is effective, to know if we are making a difference in understanding and preventing this horrible disease. Scientific discovery is painfully slow but we’re inching towards a cure (I hope!).
2 years
My oldest will leave for college in just 2 years! I swear he was just in diapers, riding his strider bike down the street, and hitting baseballs off of a tee. Get used to me talking about how fast these next two years will zip by with both kids in high school. It’s going to be manic and fun, exciting and overwhelming. I want to make the very most of every moment.
1 year
The Florence Project, my memoir, takes place in one year’s time. How could it be so hard to write a story about one year in a life? Oh friends, it is so incredibly difficult! Writing a book, a memoir, is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’ve learned the skills needed, had feedback and direction from authors I greatly admire, and dared to write the thing in its entirety.
But I’ve also let myself get discouraged. I’ve let fear and doubt fill my thoughts until I could no longer write. But no more. I will see this goal through to the end and someday publish my story about that one year in Italy.
When I can say I’m a published author, it will all be worth it. No matter how long it takes.
What is that rule about 10,000 hours? Actually, time is irrelevant in the pursuit of dreams.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams
—Eleanor Roosevelt
July reads!
I read the latest novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones, Evelyn Hugo and, my favorite, Malibu Rising) about the 1980s shuttle program that I found fascinating. It is a love story but with the science and training of NASA astronauts as a backdrop. If you’ve read any Carly Fortune (Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake), then One Golden Summer should be on your end of summer reading list. Canadian lake life is where it’s at. And finally, I’m currently working my way through The Book Thief. This is on Izzy’s summer reading list for her freshman honor’s English class and I thought it would help (motivate? encourage?) if I read it, too. Anyone read it? The format takes some getting used to and lately it has helped me fall asleep at night….not a good sign for Izzy!
July progress at the Porch House…
Ryan has been busy painting! The pantry door is a lovely green and the family room is a dark moody blue. Now if we just had some furniture, we could enjoy this room and others. And how lovely is this orchid? It was generously gifted to us by a friend and it gives me all the home feels.
Up next for the Porch House reno is my home office! Stay tuned to find out what I have planned…
Congratulations! 20 years! I'm heading into my 20th year teaching as well (although not all at the same place). So crazy.
What empathy and wisdom Izzy is sending your way! Your dad loaned me money to publish my second book, Feeding the Young Athlete. (I paid it all back!) When the pallet of books arrived I saw that the printer had set the pages so every other one was off kilter. I could not sell these books, even though I had pre-orders. The printer said I had signed off on the galleys the way they were (absurd). I collapsed in tears. Grace, who was a teenager, came to console me and said - oh mom, life’s not about the money. It will be okay.
Daughters to the rescue.