I'm about to make a confession, but please don't tell anyone as it might ruin my reputation as this very zen, spiritual being who preaches to anyone who will listen about living in the moment, and staying connected with your inner sense of peace and calm, even in the most hectic of circumstances.

Ok, here's the confession - I've just discovered that once you are a Type A personality, you will probably always be a Type A personality!! I know my inability to know-when-to-say-when was a major factor in my illness - I pushed and pushed and pushed until my body couldn't hold up any more. I was a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and managed a business - and always felt I had to do each to perfection.

Illness taught me that if you don't respect and honor your body, mind and spirit there will be a price to pay. And yet, here I am working like a mad woman the last few months, and most particularly the last several weeks. It is all for a good cause, and I am loving every minute of it, but I am pushing myself nonetheless. The Heal With Hope website is being completely redone, I am finishing a book I have written, and working on developing a line of inspirational products. There is creative work, accounting decisions, and legal ramifications to be addressed...this is in addition to my regular responsibilities of maintaining the current website, answering reader questions, and planning future articles...and of course caring for myself and my family.

I share all I am currently involved in because it is important to the central theme I am trying to put forth - that once you are a Type A you are probably always a Type A. What I have also found is that just because you know better now doesn't make it any easier to walk away from the things you see as your duty and or responsiblity, but it does meant that you are more aware of the price you may pay for all the pushing, and therefore it becomes easier to make the decision to expend your energy on things that really mean something to you instead of wearing yourself out trying to make the rest of the world happy (and believe me they never will be - the more you do, the more you are expected to do!).

The old Andrea would have sat and fussed with this blog posting until it was up to my usual gold standard...but tonight I am going to show the world, and myself, that although I may still be a bit of a Type A, I am now smarter and wiser and know when to say when...and so I say good night!! Because this on-her-way-to-being a former type A is tired and needs to go to bed. Sweet dreams... ~ Andrea ;-)