143 - Rising Strong Together with Meghan Bigelow

Meghan Bigelow's message is a work in progress. She’s gone through a terrible tragedy and a year later, she is dealing with the wreckage and putting her life and purpose back into place. I want to start by encouraging you to google Meghan Bigelow and read more about what happened to her family on June 14, 2018. Today we talk about it, but we do not go into all the details for a couple reasons. First, Meghan can only talk about anything that was actually published in news outlets because of the sensitive nature of future legal proceedings. The other reason is that it’s really hard to talk about death and destruction when it happens to you. With that in mind, I will share some background, all of which is available in a google search, so that you’ll have a little better understanding of the context. Meghan and her sons are victims of gun violence. On a trip to the dentist last June, they were followed and then gunned down by a man who was enraged by a driving incident. Meghan and her youngest son Asa were both shot and left for dead. Her middle son, Cooper, ran and escaped. Her oldest son, Vaughn Jr, who she calls Bubba, was killed. It was a horrific event that still doesn’t seem real. Many of you may wonder more about the shooter. We don’t talk about him at all so I will share what I read in the media: After the shooting, he went to Home Depot, bought supplies for his job, and then went to work. He wasn’t caught until he was driving home that evening and is currently in custody awaiting trial. So as you can see, Meghan’s story is still unfolding. I’m so amazed and proud of this woman for the courage she has to move forward each day and to focus on bringing love, light and positivity to this world. Today we talk about: Life before June 14, 2018 Being a busy career mom and trying to make it all work June 14, 2018 Recovering from gun violence Learning what happened and accepting it Healing & Finding strength again Gun violence & mental health: link to Moms Demand Action Big Waves Foundation Please mark Sept 14 on your calendars. If you’re local, come out to the Big Waves Family 5k and if you’re not, do it virtually to support Meghan’s new nonprofit to honor her son Vaughn Jr. You may be a little shaky after this one. I understand. I am too. Meghan opens the podcast talking about how she sometimes feels like she needs to be strong when others are not and how that snowballs because people would say You’re SO strong which added even more pressure. But she ends the episode by say this, which is relevant to EVERYONE listening every day of our lives. Don’t lose sight of you. Find your center and come back to it. That’s where you’ll recover and nurture your strength. You can support Meghan and the change she is focused on making in the world by donating to the Big Waves Foundation. As the ripples of the waves grow to include their future work toward gun sense, I think we will all find a common ground. Because gun violence is accelerating at such a fast pace, we will soon all have connections to someone lost or injured. So do the Big Waves Family 5k on Sept 14 from wherever you live. Meghan is on a mission to bring something positive to the world. Help her do that.