Sharing Our Story

It's not difficult to stop traffic.  I have held out my hand in front of oncoming traffic while directing a class of 6 year olds across the street.  Another time, I witnessed a young dog jumping out of a stationary car on a major highway, it ran out on the road and traffic was banked up for miles in both directions.  We take note of what is in front of us when the picture changes.
Today Merv and I weren't directing traffic but we were sharing our story with a group of professional people at their annual symposium.  The group of 60 people listened politely to our story.  I asked Merv if he wanted to share anything but he was happy for the photos I had emailed to the coordinator to tell his story for him.  The photos were used as a slideshow on a large screen behind us. They are;  'the before and after photos.'  Photos of us on the Great China Wall in 2009,  in Santorini in 2008,  New Zealand Cruise in 2012.  Photos of Merv bowling with his carer, visiting the local wildlife centre, Merv with his hanging basket veggies and our favourite is Merv enjoying the ocean  wearing a ski jacket for floatation.  Dustin was in the water with him.
I had been asked to share our story with a group of professionals from one of our largest service groups.  They provide in home care plus a large range of residential care homes and respite accommodation. They had five separate meeting dates to ensure all their staff could attend one session.  We attended three of the five sessions to share our story.
I have no problems with public speaking.  We were pleased to be able to share our story and hope our experience will benefit others in their professional journey.
I practised my talk at home.  Our story included:  sharing we had no idea about Huntington's when we married.  Merv's father was diagnosed in 1994 and Merv was later tested the same year and found to be HD positive.  I talked about having our retirement while still at work and the many wonderful places we visited including Italy, China, Japan, Singapore and the South Pacific. I talked about how Merv is busy after his enforced retirement at 55, with social groups and ten pin bowling every Thursday.  I talked about Mel (with her permission) and how she recently found out she is also HD positive.  When I practised I faltered as the tears threatened and the lump in my throat stopped me  in my tracks.  I suddenly realised I hadn't dealt with my sorrow and pain for her, my emotions were still raw. What could I do to prevent tears while I shared our story?  During last month's first session I simply said, "Mel asked me to share her news that she is HD positive."  I shared her journey with the audience without emotion by adding a little humour. The journey already travelled and the journey ahead is easier with a good dash of humour.