meghan.k.carey

writer :: yogi :: runner :: veggie lover


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Running is my muse

And I’ve lost her…

For now anyway…

Since my trip the emergency room put a hold on running, the frequency of my posts declined. This is partly because I started to write a few times about how frustrated I felt, but I stopped myself from publishing them because they felt more like journal entries. Running always made me feel strong, helped to clear my head and also got my creative energy moving. Time to find it something else to stir up creativity and idea generation.

After some tests and doctor appointments, I am scheduled for surgery in the middle of July. The cartilage behind my knee cap is damaged and it’s completely gone in one place, which causes a bone-on-bone situation. B-o-B is B.A.D. The plan is to fix the damaged cartilage, move my kneecap away from other bones and take cartilage cells to harvest. I’ll be in a knee brace for six weeks and myself again in just over three months. At that point, I can see how I feel and if I want to have the harvested cartilage put in my knee at some point. That second surgery is optional and takes a lot longer to recover from, so I’m going to take it one procedure at a time. Though I know in the back of my head that I likely need to choose to either have the second procedure or to stop running for good.

It’s emotional…and not just the stopping running part. Our wedding is less than three months after the surgery, which is really what makes me wary. I know that wearing a knee brace for half the summer isn’t that bad (my wedding dress will cover the sweet tanlines)…but I am scared that my body will change as I rest and recover. I have a vision of me in my dress that I want to achieve, especially because it just requires me to maintain where I’m at…but that’s a place I’m at with the help of running and yoga. I also want to dance up a storm at our wedding, which will be my inspiration to follow the doctor’s orders. I feel funny even writing this because, in perspective, it isn’t bad at all. Other people have more significant problems than fitting into wedding dresses and being able to dance. But sometimes I just get a little female about it. I flirted with waiting until after the wedding to have the surgery, but my knee locked up in the car again yesterday. I cannot put this off.

So I will keep trying to see this is an opportunity to rest, to write, to try different exercises and to get stronger mentally.


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Working or playing?

beach write“The Master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both.” James A. Michener


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Creativity. Contribution. Fulfillment.

Values

Creativity. Contribution. Fulfillment. These are a first draft of my core values that I identified through an activity at a leadership workshop today. We were given a long list of words and had to check the 10 that stood out to us the most. Then we had to star 5 of the 10 that resonated more. Lastly, we circled the three that seemed to fit us each the best. Out of the 10 I originally chose, these three do describe what’s important to me (mostly the ‘work’ me) pretty well. But, if given more time, I probably would have started with different words and had a different outcome! I’ll probably revisit the big list soon.

I love training sessions that focus on personal growth and today’s did just that. Through conversations and exercises, I realized how often I interject my opinions in conversations at work. This is something I started to do to gain authority when I moved into a project management role for the first time. It was a big deal for me to be vocal on new subject matter and in big meetings, so it was a skill I really needed to work hard to develop.

Leadership is always evolving and today I realizing how to take the next step. It’s time to empower those around me to grow. To ask questions instead of sharing opinions and to coach teammates to get to the next level. This can be a scary thing. Others could get credit for ideas that I previously would have or they could grow so much they rise above me. And that’s ok. I grow by letting others grow. I grow by helping others grow. It creates opportunities all around, including for me to contribute in new ways that I will likely find fulfilling.

What can you do to empower others? Is it difficult for you to take the focus off yourself and apply it to your peers?


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Rain, rain, whatever

Aboard the Mary Ellen Ferry to Long Island

Aboard the Mary Ellen Ferry to Long Island

Spontaneity fosters happiness. I really believe it. The weather forecast for Memorial Day weekend had me pretty bummed, but also thankful that our numerous attempts to plan camping and waterside trips that weekend hadn’t panned out. Then I received a fun email on Friday morning. We were going to Long Island, rain or shine. It even had a list of persuasive bullets, but I didn’t need convincing.

When life hands you water, just get wet! That was our attitude when we hit the road early Saturday morning. Showers and 50 degrees. Who cares? We figured we would rent wet suits, stand up paddle boards and or surfboards and hit the ocean. Why not? Hurricane winds. When we got there, we could barely stand on the beach in front of our room. But just the idea of adventure was energizing!

We still had a great overnight trip sampling wine at the local vineyards, eating lots of amazing food and chatting with local shop owners. On Sunday, we took another ferry to Shelter Island. It truly was sheltered from all the wind…and the sun was back out. We walked a 6 mile loop around the Mashomack Preserve, which was just beautiful. I almost stepped on a snake. Then we ate on the harbor, contemplated staying forever, then boarded our first of two ferries to get back to Boston.

Tallies for the weekend:

  • 4 ferry rides
  • 4 for 4 fabulous restaurant picks
  • 3 live music performances
  • 2 wineries
  • lost of instagrams
  • countless laughs

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Balance beam challenge in Mashomack Preserve

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Photobombed by a random guy in Greenport Village, NY

Photobombed by a random guy in Greenport Village, NY

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