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ONE
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
~ Lao-Tzu. Chinese philosopher
(604 BC - 531 BC)
A truckload of guilt dumped its load on Cara’s heart as she got into the car and glanced back at her crying, red-faced two-year-old. Toby struggled to free himself from his father’s hold, screaming for her to come back. Long ribbons of tears streamed down his puffy cheeks as Pete released a hand to wave, returning it quickly before his son could escape. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he wriggled free and chased her down the street at super speed like the little kid fromThe Incredibles.
The young mother of three turned the key in the ignition and noticed the time on the dashboard. ‘Damn it!’ If it hadn’t been for her toddler surgically attaching himself to her leglike an over-sized ankle-weight while trying to get ready, shemayhave been on time.
Toby’s clinginess made it hard for Cara to go anywhere without him. Not that she went out often, apart from the usual outings – supermarket, school, pre-school, and pharmacy. The extent of her social life revolved around Facebook updates and cappuccinos in cardboard cups with the mothers at PlayLand Central Café. They’d chat about the ups and downs of life while their toddlers ran riot in the noisy and painfully colourful play areas. The problem was, Toby decided that everywhere he went, Mum would have to go too. Including chaperoning him to the under-three’s slippery slide so he could have about fifty million goes on it, along with the bouncy swings that were annoyingly un-automated. Cara had to bounce the swing up and down every five seconds or so, whenever Toby yelled ‘Again, Mummy!’ It would have been so much easier if there was a button to keep the freaking thing bouncing, or at least a remote control to press periodically in between mother-to-mother discussions of how to hide vegetables in meals, how Toby’s eczema was responding to the new cream, and the contents of little Sophia’s nappies –Is khaki green normal?Whenever Cara tried to grab a few sips of her (now cold) cappuccino, Toby would either cry as if it was the end of the world, or drag her back to the play area with surprising strength. No wonder she’d lost some weight, she hardly ever sat still.
Cara leaned her head against the driver’s seat, heart racing from rushing out the door, fatigue casting its heavy shadow on her brain. She wished she could close her eyes and take a power-nap, but the meeting started in six minutes and it would take fifteen to get there. She drove off, tempted to send a text explaining her delay, but thoughtit best to just arrive as soon possible. She could always blame it on traffic, or something else. With her history of being punctually challenged, she often joked she could write a book called ‘101 Excuses for Being Late’. Although, it always boiled down to the same reason: ‘I have three young kids and that’s all there is to it’.
At 7:14 pm, Cara arrived and turned off the engine, forcing a deep breath. She always seemed to turn up to events panting, red-faced, and sweaty, like she’d just run a marathon … which, motherhood kind of was. It would be nice to have at leastsomecomposure when she walked in. She’d never met these people and didn’t want to make a bad impression. Then again, maybe other members of The Life Makeover Club were stressed out mums like her.
Cara gulped down a lump of nerves, as a doorman – adoorman!– welcomed her into City Health and Fitness. The glossy reception area glowed under decorative mood lighting, fresh flowers wafted an exotic scent her way, and wall-mounted televisions showed weight loss success stories.Ha!Look after my kids for a few weeks and you’ll lose weight.Cara chuckled.‘The Chaotic Collins Method – lose one dress size per month or your money back!’
She followed the sign that pointed to the escalator –escalator, in a gym?– and stood still while she had the chance as it delivered her to the second floor. She glanced left at a door marked The Lotus Room, then right to the door on the other side of the hallway: The Ruby Room. The sign was embellished with gold lettering and a beautiful ruby emblem, much more appealing than the hand-painted ‘Please Knock Or Else’ sign on her daughter, Lily’s bedroom door.
Cara took a deep breath and wriggled her shoulders which were always tense from carrying heavy bags andyoung children. Hoping she could muster a calm façade to shield her inner chaos, she pushed open the door and stepped into the room. People seemed to move and talk in slow motion, while her nerves bounced all over the place like kids on a bouncy castle. She purposely slowed her breathing further, hoping to appear calm and confident, instead of frantic and close to collapse. She’d read in an article recently that to distract yourself from anxious feelings you should focus on objects around you, so Cara made an effort to take in the stunning decor. The room suited its name well. Dangling light fittings of tiny red crystals, like rubies, sparkled below the ceiling in the small entry foyer. Varying shades of red weaved an elegant, intricate pattern gracing the floor of the main meeting area, and upholstered cream-coloured chairs with red piping sat like a skirt around the oval table that was adorned with a centrepiece of red and white roses.
Wow.
Cara would have loved to decorate her house like that. She could do it, she had the artistic skills, but there’d be no use. The kids would probably swing from the ruby light fittings or Lily would pluck off the crystals to use as earrings. They’d spill cereal and milk on the exquisite carpet, and Bobo the dog would scratch up the chairs and leave a blanket of dark fur behind.
Maybe in another life...
A tall woman approached, her light grey hair a delicate sculpture framing her face. ‘You must be Cara.’ Her kind eyes had a glow about them that matched her almost-luminescent coral-coloured blouse. ‘Welcome. I’m Liz.’
‘Hi, nice to meet you, sorry I’m late. Citytraffic … you know!’
‘No problem at all.’ Liz placed a soft hand on Cara’s arm. ‘Why don’t you grab your name badge from that table, help yourself to a nice cuppa, and we’ll start in a couple of minutes.’ She smiled.
‘Oh, I’d love a cuppa.’ Cara smiled too. She liked this woman already.
She put her name badge on, made a cup of coffee (she’d be up half the night with Toby anyway), and, realising she’d put her name badge on upside down, undid it and put it back on again. She also looked down and wiggled her toes to make sure she was wearing matching shoes, remembering the time she turned up to parent-teacher interviews wearing two different sandals. She still had no idea where her right Diana Ferrari sandal was. Bobo had probably buried it in the yard, or chewed it to bits and chucked the remains into the neighbour’s veggie patch. It probably had parsley growing out of it by now.
The warm coffee relaxed Cara’s throat as she took a much-needed sip, and the striking red feature wall at the back of the room enticed her forward. She’d been meaning to paint a feature wall at home, but never got around to it. Like the zillions of other things she never got around to doing. Besides, her four-year-old, Jacob, often took it upon himself to create hisownfeature walls throughout the house. Permanent markers his instrument of choice.
Cara took residence in the last remaining chair, and Liz lit the last of the six candles suspended from the wall by wrought iron sconces. A reddish fan-shaped glow spread from the top of each one, and it was as though the room had opened its eyes. The Club was now awake, alive, and ready to discover the people who’d taken up its challenge.
Liz stood in front of the group and clasped her handstogether. ‘Welcome to the first meeting of The Life Makeover Club. I’m so grateful to have you all here, and very excited, as I’m sure you are too.’ She smiled and clicked a remote, and the screen behind her came to life:
The Life Makeover Club – where dreams become reality
‘Before you introduce yourselves, I’d like to start by saying that no matter where you are now in your life, no matter what you’re going through, your lifecanbe turned around. Your life has the potential to be the most amazing, wonderful creation you could ever have imagined.’ Her words could have been perceived as cheesy, but authenticity oozed from her voice. ‘Seven years ago, I was living a completely different life.’ The screen changed, and Liz pointed to a picture of herself commanding a courtroom. ‘I was a prosecuting attorney, and law was my life for over twenty-five years. It was tough, exciting, and powerful; being able to directly influence the course of justice.’ Liz gazed at her picture for a moment, then turned to face the group with her hands out to the side, palms facing upwards. ‘So, what changed? What made me give up on years of study and hard work to do what I’m doing now?’ She clicked the remote. ‘This.’
A unified gasp emerged from the group as the next picture appeared, and Cara’s hand flew to her mouth. A thin, pale woman lay exhausted in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines, and covered with tubes. Grey circles framed her sunken eyes, and she was without hair.
‘This was me only a few months after the previous picture you saw. At the peak of my career I was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer, and my life changed in an instant.’ She clicked her fingers. ‘I endured months of debilitating treatment, the prognosis was poor, and...’ Liz’s gazelowered to the floor. ‘Ireallythought I was going to die.’ She leant a hand on the edge of the table and glanced back up at the screen. ‘I left my job, not only because I could no longer physically do it, but because it no longer seemed as important as other things. I spent every spare moment with my family. After a long battle and a few close calls, my scans finally came up clear. Last October I celebrated my fifth year in remission.’ Her eyes glistened.
A woman in a black suit clapped. Cara joined in, followed by the others. Liz nodded in appreciation and held a hand over her heart. ‘Thank you, all. Thank you.’ She straightened her posture and stood strong in front of the group. ‘The interesting thing is, I now believe cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me. It allowed me to appreciate life for what it was, and forced me to rethink my beliefs. Before the diagnosis, I focused excessively on work, and my marriage struggled. I hardly ever saw my kids and grandkids, and although my career was soaring to new heights, the rest of my life was falling apart.’ Liz flipped to another slide, a picture of her; healthy, and surrounded by smiling faces. ‘Cancer brought me closer to my husband and family, and made me realise I wasn’t living the life I really wanted. So I made a choice. I chose to reinvent my life; tomakeovermy life.’
Cara cleared her throat as a lump of guilt formed. All thoughts of her kids and their daily struggles drained from her mind as she and the other women sat completely still, riveted by the collage of pictures on the next slide: Liz receiving her life coaching diploma, the cover of her book ‘Your Life Your Way’, testimonials from happy clients, including a few celebrities, and Liz speaking in front of a full auditorium. There were also pictures of Liz and her husbandat the Great Wall of China, Liz at a family wedding, and Liz holding a newborn baby. So many memories that may have never happened, had she not recovered.
‘It shouldn’t take a crisis to change your life. You have the abilitynowto decide who you want to be, and create the life you want to live.’ Enthusiasm commanded her voice. ‘If your life was up on this screen, what pictures would you want to see? What would you do, and where would you go, if you knew you couldn’t fail? That’s what you need to think about tonight, and over the coming weeks.’ She turned off the PowerPoint presentation.
