2019 in Review

Reflecting...

This is my third "Year in Review" blog post since starting "Abby's World" in 2017.  (If you wish to read my previous versions, 2018 is here and 2017 is here.)  When reflecting on this blog, I feel gratitude to those who have read posts - one or many, I cherish the experiences that I've been able to document here, I acknowledge that I still don't know my target audience and I've embraced that.  I like that I chose a name that allows me write about random topics, though I wish I had come up with something more creative.  My mind wanders a lot... my blog topics only tend to wander occasionally. For the most part, I've stuck to Physical Therapy/Health and WNBA Basketball/Women's Sports, but I've thrown in some odd topics along the way, too, like this post which had weird photos of my eyelids.

In summary, since starting the blog, I've written 110 posts with a collective total of over 25,000 readers. I've had two posts eclipse 1,000 hits (this one about Physical Therapist Board Certification and this one about sport specialization), and I'm sure they're not my mom reading the same post 1,000 times. I posted less in 2019 than in 2108, but I also traveled and read a lot more. I like this pace and expect it will be similar in 2020.  Here are a few of the highlights from 2019, both personal and professional, and a look forward to what's coming in 2020. 

The beginning of 2019 was insanely busy.  From January through early April I supervised my first PT student who I wrote about here. In March, I presented advanced anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder at a Youth Upper Extremity Injuries conference, which I wrote about here, and which showed me that I really enjoy teaching, though I would miss clinical work way too much to dive into that full time. At least for now. And then a week later was the Sports Certified Specialist PT Exam which I wrote about here.  Taking a student really opens up your time to focus on other things, at least when they're as good as mine was. I took full advantage of that opportunity. 

In 2019, I "came out" about my eating disorder with this blog post and shared some mental health struggles.  It's amazing how much better things can get when you 1) learn there is, in fact, a problem and 2) do something about it.  I faced these issues with a much bigger support system than I had anticipated, along with an army of healthcare providers, which made things so much better.  I spent many hours and even more dollars between my Therapist's office and my Dietician's office along with visits to my Naturopath and Gastroenterologist because adding foods back into my diet that I had been previously binging or restricting ultimately made me pretty sick. Like bent over in pain, leaving work early, and carrying extra clothing around in case something horrific happened sick. Unbelievable how much damage you can do to yourself but also how resilient the body is!  It could be that some of those foods made me start restricting in the first place, but we'll probably never know that. I'm certain that we need to continue working to de-stigmatize mental healthcare in the US. Too many people need help but are ashamed to get it, and it can make a huge difference in your quality of life.  

Justin Timberlake!

Despite having a persisting gut ache, I also traveled more in 2019 than ever before.  It started with a day trip to Vancouver, BC, on Valentine's Day to see Justin Timberlake in concert. Amazing.  So Amazing.  In March, an East Coast visit with the family and Climb to the Top of Rockefeller Center for Multiple Sclerosis for the fifth time (which I've previously written about here). I won't be climbing in 2020 but if you'd like to donate and support the cause, please let me know and I'll connect you to fundraisers! In May a trip to the Olympic Peninsula to check out Dungeness Spit and learn about that type of land formation. In June I headed East twice more for weddings, once with family in Ohio and then in New Hampshire two weekends later.  

World Travels

In August I enjoyed a life-changing opportunity to volunteer in Tanzania, Africa, for two weeks which I wrote about here, and which was has captivated my thoughts and prayers since. In September the AASPT Traveling Fellowship brought me to Ohio and Minnesota, which I wrote about here, and which impacted my learning and career goals in several ways. In October there was a quick snowy vacation weekend to Denver followed by a Thanksgiving trip to Connecticut to see the family, which I wrote a bit about here.  The year will wrap up with my birthday celebration in Portland, OR for some Trailblazers vs Lakers basketball.  Basically, I was all over the map and spent a lot of time reading and writing in airports.  Shockingly I have zero travel plans for 2020 right now, but I'm sure that will change. 

I read a lot of books in 2019, both fiction and non-fiction, thanks to audio books for the commute and OverDrive on my phone for while I was on the road.  Four books were listed in the syllabus for The Level Up Initiative, which I wrote about here, all of which were really awesome. My favorite reads of 2019 were "The Moment of Lift How Empowering Women Changes the World" by Melinda Gates, "Yale Needs Women" by Anne Gardiner Perkins, "Educated" by Tara Westover, and "Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body" by Roxanne Gay.  I also listened to some podcasts and binge watched "The Handmaid's Tale" on Hulu... can't wait until the next season comes out!

There was continuing education, kayaking, basketball, and time with family and friends.  I didn't spend nearly enough time with my family, but hopefully that will change next year.  My biggest goal for 2020 is to purchase a house, so perhaps I'll write about that experience.  My student loans are finally under $80,000, so it only seems appropriate to acquire more debt, right?

As the sun sets on 2019, I'm wishing everyone a safe holiday season and look forward to writing more in the new year.  

How I Spent My Day

Remember when social media first started to become popular and people started posting on Facebook every little thing they did?  Like folded laundry, took a shower, went to the gym... nothing really out of the ordinary, usual everyday kinds of things?  Like today, my brother just re-posted his first Facebook post of each month of 2019.  How four people liked that is beyond me.  Or remember when AOL Instant Messenger had "Away Messages" that would automatically get sent back to anyone who wrote you because you were away from your computer?

One time in college, I had an "Away Message" up that was a quote from the band "3 Doors Down."  Here's a YouTube link to one of their hits, "Here Without You," in case you need a refresher. I don't remember the quote I used, but it was probably from this song.  Anyways, I had their quote as my away message and I probably didn't have proper punctuation to identify it as a song because my sister called me at 2AM and when I sleepily answered from my own bed in my dorm room, she asked "Who lives 3 doors down from you that you're spending all this time with?"  Ha!

Anyways, now that you are reflecting on all the simple things you used to post on your own social media or the things that annoy you when you read them from others, I'm going to tell you how I spent my day today. An Abby Play-By-Play for your reading enjoyment.  I'm sure you all want to know.

Today is Monday, December 16th.  I woke up around 7:30AM, before my alarm.  I usually don't need my alarm to wake up, so today was no exception.  I have Mondays off and was excited that I had signed up to watch the Breakthrough Summit, a digital leadership conference for women in sports.  If you missed it, you can still watch the replay by signing up here.

LaChina Robinson and Jill Ellis

The Summit kicked off with introduction from ESPN Basketball Analyst LaChina Robinson (Twitter @LaChina Robinson) interviewing Jill Ellis Head Soccer Coach for the 2019 World Cup Champions US Women's Soccer  National Team.  I didn't plan to live tweet quotes from today... but then the inspiring quotes just wouldn't stop coming.  Coach Ellis talked about her career path, things coaches should consider as they work towards the top, her experience working with outspoken professional athletes in the current environment where women are voicing their opinions, loudly, about the inequalities in opportunity, pay, the workforce, and so many other areas.  My favorite quote from this interview was Coach Ellis saying "If I'm the same leader today that I was two years ago, I'm failing."  The value of personal growth is enormous, and I heard her loud and clear.

At this point, I got out of bed and made a bowl of Frosted Flakes with Almond Milk and some grapes which I enjoyed while watching the next portion of the Summit. LaChina had an interesting discussion with a panel coming from three different sports backgrounds.  Dr. Jen Welter (Twitter @jwelter47) is considered to be the first woman who worked in the NFL when she joined the Arizona Cardinals Coaching Staff in 2015 after a successful career as a Pro Footballer herself.  She said she called herself a 'Pro" because they didn't earn enough money for the "fessional" and that when her team won a championship following a 12-0 season, she got her first paycheck along with her championship ring. The check was for $12.  But she was paid to play her sport, football, and that was a big deal.

LaChina and Panel: Jen, Ginny, and Charmelle

Also on the panel was Seattle Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder (Twitter @ginnygilder) who I've previously written about here and who is an Olympian Rower.  What stuck out to me from Ginny's talk was how the Storm ownership group, Force 10 Hoops, initially came together to determine why they wanted to collectively purchase the Seattle Storm.  They wanted to support a team that the community loved, but they also wanted a platform to use to support the changes they saw necessary in the world.  After five years working with the team, I had never heard that story, and now I can't wait to hear more about it.

Third on the panel was Penn State Senior Associate Athletic Director Charmelle Green (Twitter  @charmelle44) who played college softball at Utah and was the only black female athlete on campus at that time.  She talked about her career path and about learning from your mistakes and using them for growth.  Carmelle is also the President-Elect of WeCoach who sponsored this event.  The Vision Statement of WeCoach is "recruitment, advancement, and retention of women coaches of all sports and levels."  Throughout today's event, data was presented showing that female coaches don't stick around as long as their male counterparts.  The data improves if the female coach was, herself, coached by a female coach.  The data also improves if females were asked as student athletes if they would consider coaching as a career after college - compared to those who were never asked to consider that path.  The data was presented in an online live Q+A chat during their lunch session by two of the later presenters.

It was at this point that I unfortunately had to head out for my appointment with my therapist because #mentalhealth.  In the car I listened to the presentation of Felecia Mulkey (Twitter @BaylorAcroCoach), Acrobatics and Tumbling Coach at Baylor University who discussed the process of developing a team culture using Dr. Bruce Tuckman's "Developmental Sequence of Team Development" model.  She uses boundaries, clearly defined expectations, and consequences paired alongside coaching staff congruency to make sure her team functions as a program.  I liked her discussion of how a coach can't really choose the culture of their team, the culture is what the team thinks it is and the coach can impact that culture with how they lead.  Then I had to miss some of the Summit, but it's going to be available in recorded form and I guarantee I'll catch up and watch WNBA All Star playing for the Connecticut Sun, Layshia Clarendon (Twitter @LayshiaC) because she's an awesome human being and I was bummed that I missed it today.

Betsy Butterick

Following mental health came physical health.  I made it to the gym in time to catch my old pal Betsy Butterick, The Coaches' Coach and Communication Specialist. (Twitter @BetsyButterick) with her presentation. What could be more motivating on the treadmill than watching Betsy demonstrating how easy it is to tangle up communications as she was instructed to make a PB&J sandwich.  Something so simple went horribly wrong in a memorable visual presentation.  I first met Betsy in 2007 when I worked for the Connecticut Sun and she worked for the Seattle Storm.  We were both doing laundry for our teams and there was a small group of us around the WNBA at that time who were around the same age, all hoping to find our paths in women's sports. She's paving the road for many behind her and elevating so many coaches with her work, doing amazing things.  We both participated in the Women's Basketball Summit which I wrote about here, and you can check out her latest work here!

I missed the next presentation and a half because I needed amped up music to deadlift, but then saw the second half of the data on women in coaching presented by Dr. Nicole Lavoi (Twitter @DrSportPsych).  Dr. Lavoi is the Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota, but what I did hear was a combination of optimistic room for growth and disbelief at the current status of the NCAA.  It made me sad to hear how few women hold higher up roles in NCAA Intercollegiate Athletics as well as coaching women's teams around the country.  Women in higher ranks will ultimately help women get the jobs in sports they aspire to have, so the future will hopefully have room for more female athletic directors. There are report cards grading athletic departments based on their gender hiring practices.  UConn doesn't look good with their D, but the shining light was seeing my college professor, Dr. Laura Burton, on the Tucker Center staff.  She was always pushing for improved gender opportunities 15 years ago.  I didn't know the Tucker Center existed, but I can't wait to read through some of their research in the upcoming weeks and finish watching her presentation.

LaChina and Holly Warlick

By now I had made it home for a late lunch... I'm sure you're wondering... chicken salad in corn tortillas, taco style. I was able to finish watching the last interview with former Tennessee Lady Vols Women's Basketball Head Coach Holly Warlick, who spoke highly of legendary Women's Basketball Coach Pat Summitt.  Holly's top quote was "You meet the same people on the way up that you do on the way back down, so treat people with respect."  She also gave the advice to young coaches that they really need to love what they're doing.  Coaching is a huge time commitment that requires you to sacrifice time away from your family, so loving it and having family support are essential.

Then I went to Target.

Overall, a pretty awesome day.  I really enjoyed the parts of the Summit I was able to watch and can't wait to fill in the gaps soon.  Hopefully they'll do a repeat next year.  What did you do ttoday?

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

The Family

I just returned from a great week on the East Coast celebrating Thanksgiving with my family. It's always great to see them, as well as my friends, but this year was more emotional than usual. My parents are moving to Florida after spending their entire lives in Connecticut and the future of family get-togethers now falls to the unknown. Though they may not realize it, they're the pillars of the family, the matriarch and patriarch. They're the glue that keeps everyone together. Without them in New England, it's hard to know when my whole immediate family will all be in one place. I think that's sad. It's also great for them to escape the snow... I did that five years ago and I've grown soft because of it. I hate to see snow, now, and can't really tolerate the cold the way I used to. I'm really happy for them to get away from the winter, enjoy more sunshine, and spend time with their friends who escaped the winters in the past.

Justin Timberlake 2/14/19

Fortunately my parents didn't move out of my childhood home this week... that occurred over a decade ago and I rarely spent the night at their most recent CT place. It had a lot of the same things in it that my childhood home did - similar artwork, family photos, the same board games they always beat me at, same dining room table and china closet, plus my parents. But it wasn't my old bedroom. There were no Justin Timberlake photos taped under the bottom of the top bunk where I had created a collage of all my favorites. My stuffed animals and high school yearbook never lived there. My sister's family was close by so if I wanted to stay in my hometown, I sometimes stayed with her.  Usually, though, I stay about 40 minutes away with my roommates from graduate school, one of which has been my friend for fifteen years, who keep a room available with a set of my pajamas in the closet (plus I never returned my key when I moved out), and they're more centrally located to all the places I tend to visit and closer to UConn and Boston-Logan airport.  Plus they have a really cute almost 3-year-old who wakes me up at the crack of dawn saying that the sun is up and I should be too... can't argue with that.

So with a lot of emotions of an unknown future and big changes staring me in the face, it seemed difficult to focus on gratitudes this Thanksgiving. I think I'm generally a grateful person. I pray with gratitudes. I try to see the positive in any situation. But at a time when gratitude should have been pouring out of me, I felt myself struggling to find what I'm most grateful for. And then I remembered the "Things I Take For Granted" list which I wrote on the super long flights back from Africa this summer. (I wrote about Africa on the blog here).

Things I take for granted (not listed in any particular order):

1) Fresh water, in the tap, that I can drink to my heart's content without immediately causing me diarrhea. 

2) Ice. In unlimited quantities. For making my water cold, or for use to deal with acute pain, or countless other ways I can use ice at home. 

3) Fresh fruit and vegetables that won’t make me sick because my fresh water does not contain parasites. 

4) Clean clothes, cleaned in a washing machine and with a dryer. 

5) My parents - who happen to be American, who happen to be white, who happen to live in the United States. Who love me unconditionally.  No child gets to choose their parents. No child gets to choose the color of their skin or where they are born. 

The Siblings

6) My siblings, and the fact that there are only 2 of them. Who support the ways I chose to spread my wings and leave the nest, even if it means thousands of miles between us and far too infrequent sibling selfies. Who manage the time change between the East Coast and West Coast with early morning or late night texts and regularly scheduled Happy Thursday phone calls.  Who came to visit me in Seattle, met my Seattle friends, and saw first-hand the beauty of this side of the country.

7) My friends. Near and far. Who helped make Seattle feel like home. Who meet up for sushi on a moment's notice. Who keep in touch despite the distance and time change. Who let me share in the joys of their children's milestones while I simultaneously laugh at them for having moved onto the diapers and minivan lifestyle. Whose husbands and parents are kind and willingly take the kids so we can have friend time. Who have seen me at my worst but love me anyways. Who tell me the truth, to my face, even when I don't want to hear it.

8) Hot showers. As hot as I want. All the time. And not wondering if the water might be hotter if I wait a little bit longer.  Or needing someone to heat the water to have it poured over my head. Or that one time when I got so excited to have a hot shower after a few too many cold ones that I left it running and woke up my travel buddy, Kristen, and told her she had to jump in immediately so she could have a hot shower, too!

9) Brushing my teeth using the sink rather than a bottle of water. 

10) My education. The fact that it was available to me, at the highest level, provided by excellent schools and professors from my littlest years all the way through graduate school. That, even though I’m still paying for it for the next several years, is ultimately affordable and a choice that I made, and was able to make. I chose to attend the University of Connecticut. I could have chosen elsewhere or not to pursue higher education - and I still could have had a successful career in this country. Being a female in the United States allows for access to feminine hygiene products, which are often a limiting factor around the world for why young women must stop attending school. 11) So I guess I also take tampons and maxi-pads for granted.  And similarly birth control pills and contraceptive methods which considerably restrict accidental pregnancy, where many women around the world do not have access to these items or are mistreated if they are caught using them.

12) My home, which is cozy, well-heated in the cold season with ample blankets and a fireplace, cool enough in the summertime, with running water and apparently endless electricity, with a secure roof over my head and a roommate who consistently cleans the bathroom. 

13) My job. Which gives me a generous salary to do work that I love, that gives me the opportunity to have enough money to buy things I want. Which I can have despite being a woman, (which I believe pays me equitably to the men who work alongside me with similar amounts of experience), which won’t kick me out if I ever choose to have children and will make it possible for me to breast feed if I ever choose to do so. And which empowers me to grow and supports my individual career goals.

14) Paved roads that don’t have livestock freely roaming alongside them and which allows me to drive my vehicle, which I own, rather than walk carrying my goods on my head. 

15) My health.  My access to healthcare when something is not right, including access to well-educated doctors who can prescribe medications that are readily available if that's what's needed. My ability to communicate with a variety of specialists who will explain their findings to me and answer all my questions to help me advocate for my own well-being.  My ability to openly use mental health providers - who are readily available- something that does not exist in other parts of the world. 

16)  The ability to choose my own spouse- man or woman- because I do not belong to a tribe where my father could choose my husband in exchange for 10 cows, as a teenager, where my husband could have multiple wives, where I could be living in a country whose laws would imprison me if I chose to marry a woman.  This is the case in at least one of the tribes in Tanzania, who have ancient beliefs, that I can respect but which I do not agree with, and for which I'm now realizing how much gratitude I have for being born in the United States to Jewish parents who passed on religious beliefs that help me to appreciate other peoples' beliefs, but which are vastly different from what I learned about on this trip.

17) My bed, which does not require a mosquito net over it, which I own, which I do not have to share, which is not on the floor, and which is clean. 

18) Women's basketball. Or just basketball in general. Or women's sports. Because some places in the world can't afford to allow their children to grow up playing games. Some places in the world have children sent away from home at young ages, into the fields and working manual labor jobs. For sure those places won't be having their girls playing a sport, for fun or for a career. Probably not the boys either.

19) Did I already mention Justin Timberlake? And the Goo Goo Dolls?  Access to concerts of my favorite musicians? There was some really interesting music in Africa, but they didn't have my favorites.  

20) This blog. Where I can say whatever I want.  Which I use to collect new bits of knowledge and then share those with the world. Which I write on my personal laptop and include photos taken on my personal cell phone. And that I then go ahead to share on unrestricted social media with all my friends and family.  I'm sure my mom will read this, and at least three other people, all of whom I'm surely taking for granted.

Reality check. There's so much I'm grateful for and I'm certain I've missed more.  But these are the things I realized I missed while I traveled to a place considered to be less fortunate than the USA. It was helpful to have a reminder of all these things when I needed it most. As we head through this holiday season, I hope everyone is able to spend time with their families and the people who mean the most to them. Most of my favorite people are far away and I don't know when I'll get to see them next, but whenever that is, I'll be grateful.