Wow! Has it really been this long? My last post was 7 months ago and so much has happened since. Where do I begin?! Well, almost right after that last post I took a trip to Puerto Rico on family business and then road tripped to New Orleans right before Mardi Gras. This was all right at the very beginning of the Pandemic and we managed to take these trips right before the contagion surges began, and to be honest, that was a huge relief for us. New Orleans was an incredibly fun trip! It was my husband and I joined by our very close friend who lives in Houston. We drove to Houston one night, which is about 3.5 hours from San Antonio, then drove to New Orleans in the morning for close to 6 hours. We arrived close to 2 pm and found that it wasn’t that packed since we were a week ahead of the main Mardi Gras weekend, but there were definitely crowds and parades starting. So, our weekend was filled with day and night parades, tasting our way through the city and even a star sighting one night! We had left and escaped in time before the bigger crowds arrived, bringing one of the scariest surges of COVID-19 in the nation.
After our trips, the world was completely overwhelmed with the novel Coronavirus surges and the World Health Organization had declared it a Pandemic. The lockdowns, stay home and shelter in place orders started in stages, and before we knew it, Texas was shutting down all but essential businesses. I had already started a new position in my company where it was no longer required for me to travel. I had been working from home since January, so the transition after the stay home orders was seamless. My husband was sent home from work as they navigated through figuring out the next course of action with in-person retail. We ordered our groceries and basic necessities online, took virtual fitness classes with my barre studio and resorted to regular Zoom calls for business and family meetups.
Somehow, during this crazy time I’ve managed to secure a contract with a makeup company and become a spokesperson for them. San Antonio based, Latina owned, Holy Mother of Makeup and it is an incredible campaign! So surreal to see your face on a website wearing beautiful makeup! More on that very soon. I’m also now an ambassador for the first vegan wellness spa franchise in the U.S., Crème de la Crème Wellness and I have a few more wonderful deals coming through. I made the decision to partner with and feature more brands and companies that align with my core values of sustainability, eco-friendliness and global impact. I had started with Goodwill San Antonio and it definitely opened my eyes to what I really want this space to be. It hasn’t been a straight up creative train, but after a few months of adjusting, some bumps in the road, I’ve also recently restarted my YouTube channel and creating content again.
I also decided, for the life of me I don’t know how, to get certified as a Mat Pilates instructor. A few things happened to me during the Pandemic, health wise, that made me take my health into my own hands and really challenge myself mentally to do something I had been thinking about for over a year. I’ll talk about the health issue in another post, but I had been feeling like I needed an extra motivation in my wellness journey and this was definitely the push I needed. I had told my instructors and the studio owners at Inbalance Studios that it would be cool for me to be an instructor. I mean, I had been a corporate training instructor for 12 years, now I design the courses, but I had plenty of experience leading a group and motivating them in their careers. As to the workouts, I’d been attending and an ambassador for the Inbalance group for almost 3 years and knew all of the exercises, and always stood at the front of the class. The task was more managing my insecurities. “I don’t think I’m fit enough. I’m not as flexible as I used to be. What if I can’t catch my breath? What if I mess up the cues?” Where all the questions running through my mind, but after my health issues, I decided to go for it. If anything, I’m doing this for myself. This added motivation has got me practicing at home, getting fitter, toner, and increasing my stamina. I feel stronger already and with more practice, I’ll regain that confidence to be able to teach the classes with the members by my side in no time.
Life during the Pandemic has certainly been challenging and 2020 has proven to be a year of immense obstacles, but also with conspicuous and some not so conspicuous rewards. I choose to see the good and learn from the challenges. In my Buddhist practice, I’ve learned to embrace obstacles as something to overcome and celebrate the victories instead. There’s definitely more to come as this year approaches the final stretch. Just hold on a little bit longer, find joy in the little things in life and celebrate the small victories. I know it’s been a hard year for all of us, but I know that even in this new normal we can still have moments of joy.
Blooming Lotus 