After thinking about it and weighing all my options, I decided not to attend. It would be three or four days away with extra expense for airfare, hotel, transportation from the airport, and of course I needed some new clothes. It didn't feel right, so I didn't pursue it. But I never stopped thinking about it.
Due to Covid, the conference was rescheduled to October 29-31. For the first time ever, the conference would be held virtually! Was this a dream come true? I could wear my old blue robe, sit in my recliner, and attend! And I didn't have to pay for an airplane ticket or a hotel room.
Then I got serious. Could I really listen to the sessions? Henry is out of school early October 29. Isaac and Henry have no school October 30, and we have things to do. Our family has plans October 31. I did some digging and learned the conference will be recorded, but I needed to know more information. How long do I have to watch all the sessions? The person in charge told me I'd have at least a year to watch everything. It was all I needed to know. I was sold!
But did I register? No. I'm not sure what I was waiting for.
One day when I was on social media last week, I noticed that two women writers, Kathy Kinney and Cindy Ratzlaff, were giving away two FREE passes to the conference on Thursday, October 22 from 2-3 pm. As luck would have it, Isaac was at school, and it was the perfect time for me to watch on their Facebook page, Queen of Your Own Life.
Per their Facebook page, "Kathy Kinney and Cindy Ratzlaff are lifelong friends and co-authors of Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown Up Woman's Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve, and Queenisms: 101 Jolts of Inspiration. Kathy Kinney is best known for her iconic role as Mimi in The Drew Carey Show. Cindy Ratzlaff is a veteran publishing executive who began her career at Simon & Schuster as a public relations specialist for both Simon & Schuster Audio and Pocket Books."
They gave away one pass at the beginning of the hour. It was a matter of being the 11th or 12th (I forget) person to comment with the word "Erma." I tried but no dice. I kept watching and listening. When they announced they were going to give away the second registration, I began thinking about how much I intentionally wanted to win. I asked the universe for help, commented "Erma," and waited. There were about 90 people competing for the prize.
Guess what?
I won a free registration to the conference! I took a picture of my computer screen when I won. (Yes, that's Kathy Kinney on the left who played Mimi on The Drew Carey Show.)
If you'd like to register for the conference or take a look at the program, click here.
I'm grateful for the generosity and kindness of these two women. I should buy one of their books to support them. I'm grateful the conference is virtual, and I have an entire year to watch it.
And I'm grateful that procrastination pays off.