Taking risks is not for the faint of heart. Staying in the steady flow of life’s stunning adventures can provide deep heartache, and, on many occasions, even deeper reward. I have a vast network of ‘friends’ if you believe my LinkedIn page. Many of them are up to incredible things, and I wish I could meet them all. It is not always possible, especially when you live in a foreign country, to meet people halfway around the world. Managing conflicting schedules, children’s band practice and husbands’ travel schedules is not the easiest of tasks. Yet there are moments in time when grace takes over.
This past weekend was a treat beyond measure, not only because I got to chew my food at a slower 
pace and sit for more than twenty minutes without a monitor in my face. I also got to meet a very special person, Lisa Groen Braner, who wrote one of the most nurturing books for new moms I have ever read: The Mother's Book of Well-Being.
I once wrote it felts like a sustained hug over 200 pages. I meant it then. I mean it now.
Lisa is a fabulous writer who is working forward her MFA through a low-residency program at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. We shared laughter about the crazy things our kids do and how we respond to them and cried about the passion we feel for our work, our families and our lives. We stole away for a night to Baden-Baden, a high-end town peppered with mansions and restaurants with delectable names such as Garibaldi and The Little Prince. We dined at the latter, pouring over our ideas to make ourselves better writers, mothers and marketers of the mom empowerment cause.
The five-hour train ride back and forth to Munich was a blessing for me as I used the time to write, catch up on some long-awaited reading and learn how to correctly use the iPod my best friend gave me (thank you, Amy. Friends really are forever). I even chatted with my children on my cell phone while they were proudly on a mountain peak, exclaiming with the confidence of youth that they climbed it all ‘without complaining’.
Back to my laptop with ideas racing from my fingertips, I am happy I took the risk to meet a new friend this weekend. She substantiated my existence with her cheer, laughter and real-life take on the publishing world. For your beauty, knowledge and wisdom, I thank you, Lisa.
