Hard to Believe It Has Been a YEAR!

Last Thursday I had my one year follow up with my high-risk cancer doctor at MD Anderson. It was such a stress free visit with many worries now laid to rest since my surgeries. It was an interesting appointment in that while I was sitting and waiting to be seen I was able to reflect upon the last year and the last time that I visited with her. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN A YEAR!

I am one of those personalities where once an event has passed (especially a major event) I have trouble remembering what life was like before the event.  For instance, I really have a hard time remembering life before my kids. To be honest I have a hard time remembering parts of last week so maybe I just have a bad memory :) But I know moms will relate that have had friends that said, "Just give it 6 months and you will forget the pain of child birth and want to have another one..." And it is true-- time goes by and you forget. So, I have a hard time remembering what life was like before I was physically "altered"! Work with me here on the cryptic speak because I am trying to make everyone comfortable as they read this :)  I am mean you would think having lived a certain way for 28 years that I would remember vividly and almost lament about life before surgery.  It is such a God thing in my opinion!  I thank God everyday that He has erased those memories and made me very content with the way everything has turned out.  Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY!

The appointment was very positive and very quick!  She still did a "breast exam" and encouraged me to do the same thing as if I was natural because remember I still have that tiny little 1% floating around out there. But generally our conversation was very short and sweet and she was so happy that I was doing so well.

After my appointment I reported for one of the research studies that I am a part of at MD Anderson. That is one of the coolest parts of being treated at MD Anderson is that it is a research hospital.  I believe I am enrolled in 4 or 5 research studies currently.  Some are simple surveys taken online and some are blood draws, but this one was pictures.  I am in a study for the plastic surgery side of things to develop a program where patients undergoing mastectomies and reconstruction can view their bodies at the different stages of the reconstructive journey. The doctors want to be able to upload the patient's photo and walk them through what changes their body will go through and how they might look post-surgery.  I was so excited to be a part of this program and I can see the real value that it can have especially as more women are electing to have this surgery done after genetic testing reveals the BRCA gene.  Snap away I told them :)

Of course, I can't reflect on a year post-surgery without saying THANK YOU once again to the many friends and family that helped along this journey. Thank you for the meals, childcare help, emails, facebook posts, smiles, hugs, and visits!  It was all so helpful and my family felt very blessed by your love. I have the best friends and family in the whole world :)

Leadership is Influence

"Leadership is influence" - John Maxwell

On Sunday we took all of our graduating high school seniors and upper management out for a celebratory dinner.  This has become a 4 year tradition and we always look forward to it.  Every year has been special in its own way-- just different! This year was our biggest group by far. We had 17 graduating seniors and surprisingly 15 of them were able to attend the dinner.  So reservations for 20 were made :)

We recognize that "dinner with the boss" can seem lame and maybe even uncomfortable so we try to make this a "nice, laid back, get to know you" type dinner. We chatted among our little groups, they announced their school accomplishments, colleges they will be attending, etc.  It was so neat to learn about our very accomplished employees. 

Towards the end of dinner a few employees wanted to make speeches. This was a new twist to what has occurred at previous dinners.  Honestly we were a little nervous about what they might say-- did they like working for us? Are they so glad to be leaving? You just never know what a 17 year old might say! By the end of the few speeches there was hardly a dry eye and if you weren't crying you wanted to! It was one of those situations where I had to sit back and really think about what was occurring.  The girls who stood up and made speeches were letting it be known how much they felt like a family, how much they enjoyed their first job experience, and how much they enjoyed working with many of our managers.  That's when it hit me that this is what INFLUENCE looks like! Leadership is influence.

They were not saying that Duane and Erica taught me this and Duane and Erica taught me that-- although we did do some of that. They were talking about what our managers had sowed into them. We taught our managers and our managers taught them.  We influenced and "grew" our managers and gave them the platform and opportunity to help their peers.  One particular manager that many of them complimented is only 20 years old.  She has made a huge impact in so many young girls lives and she is still so young!  Imagine how many she will influence by the time she graduates from college! 

I don't mean to break my arm to patting ourselves on the back but it felt awesome to know that we have created a culture within our little restaurant where our leadership is influencing and being empowered to make others better.  It felt great to know that for those employees that are leaving for college and moving on feel that being a part of our Chick-fil-A family has been a valuable experience and they will take the skills they learned and go concur the world! 

It makes all the long hours, stress, and worry SO worth it! 

I love our jobs!