Many of you know that the last couple of years have been rough for me.

I’m finally turning a corner. I’m feeling better, getting out more, laughing more, and, most importantly, starting to feel like myself again and live life with purpose.

For almost two years, my world became pretty small. I went to work—which, as most of you know, I love—came home, sat in a chair for hours, walked when I felt up to it, and spent far too much time doom-scrolling.

That was pretty much it.

Thankfully, the last month has been different. I’ve been getting out more, spending time with people I love, and remembering how good it feels to simply live.

Some of you know what I’ve been through, and some of you may not.

I went through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and Keytruda for cancer treatment. I am now cancer-free, although I’ll continue with scans, blood work and plenty of doctor appointments for the next several years.

I share this not because I want sympathy, but because there is something I learned that I think is worth passing along.

Listen to yourself. Trust your instincts. And put yourself first sometimes.

I had known for months that something wasn’t right. I had been seeing the same doctor since I was 15, but because I hadn’t been there since before COVID, I was treated like a new patient and was given an appointment five months out. I called back and shared some of my symptoms, but I still didn’t get in any sooner.

In hindsight, I should have asked to speak directly with my doctor. I know she would have gotten me in.

Maybe I was scared. Maybe I didn’t want to make a big deal out of things. Maybe I thought I was overreacting.

I wasn’t.

After surgery, we discovered that what had initially appeared to be a Grade 1A tumor was actually accompanied by a much more aggressive Grade 3 tumor that hadn’t shown up on my MRI.

That tumor could have taken me out.

I was incredibly fortunate that we caught it when we did and that I was able to go through treatment.

I tell you this because if something doesn’t feel right, don’t ignore it. Make the call. Ask the question. Get the second opinion. Advocate for yourself.

Since my diagnosis, at least three of my friends have gone to the doctor to get checked. One of my closest friends was diagnosed with cancer about six months after I was. She had gone for a checkup six months earlier and everything was fine. Then she found a lump herself.

You just never know. Sometimes life throws you curveballs.

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that when life knocks you down, you also start to notice all the people who help you back up.

When my son Gavin was in first grade, his teacher, Mrs. Pace, taught the kids about “bucket fillers” and “bucket dumpers.”

I still use those terms in my house today.

And I really do believe in being a bucket filler.

Help people. Give back. Volunteer your time. Say something kind. Make someone laugh. Do something nice when nobody is watching.

The old rule is simple:

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

None of us is perfect. We all have bad days. But we can choose to spread kindness like confetti.

Because you never really know what someone else is carrying on the inside.

So, today was a really good day.

I had a whole day planned, but first I went out and bought a lottery ticket because the jackpot was over $800 million.

Then I ran into a friend who reminded me that today was August 8th—the Lion’s Gate—and that it is a day when people talk about manifesting the things they want and hope for.

I’m not going to get into all of that here, but if you’re curious, Google it. 😊

So I decided to have a little fun with it.

I sent my husband a picture of my lottery ticket and told him:

“I have the winning lottery ticket.”

Then I texted my son, who’s away at college, and told him I had the winning ticket. I told him he still had to finish college, but once we won, we’d donate some of the money and put a building at his college in our name.

Why not dream big?

I started thinking about all the things I wanted for my family, my friends, my health, my business, my future and my life.

Nothing too crazy.

Except, of course, the winning lottery ticket.

Then John and I started our day with a walk, went to the office to catch up, and later I headed out to dinner with two friends.

One was celebrating her birthday—and, ironically, she had already won $100 that morning on a scratch-off lottery ticket a friend gave her.

The other friend was celebrating being cancer-free after her second battle with the same cancer.

So there we were.

We met at Fig in Long Valley, New Jersey.

We ordered appetizers, pizza, and dinner—which, of course, turned out to be way too much food.

While we were eating, a couple sitting at the bar near our table looked over when the brick-oven pizza came out.

They commented on how good it looked.

I offered them some.

They politely declined.

But if you know me, you know that doesn’t necessarily stop me. 😊

I grabbed two plates, put two slices of pizza on them, and brought them over.

I told them I was heading to the ladies’ room and that when I came back, I just wanted to know one thing before I had another slice:

“Was the pizza any good?”

They laughed and said it was really good.

They seemed like genuinely nice people.

Sometimes you can just tell.

And, once again, I trusted my intuition.

Then Something Unexpected Happened

At the end of dinner, our waitress came over, wished us a good night, thanked us for coming—and then told me something I couldn’t believe.

Someone had anonymously paid our entire check.

For about ten minutes, I tried to convince her to take my money.

She wouldn’t.

She explained that she wasn’t allowed to tell me who paid and that the only thing I could do was pay it forward.

If you know me, you know that is something I believe in anyway.

So eventually, I gave up and went over to the couple at the bar.

I thanked them for dinner.

That’s when I met Diane and Lonnie from Tewksbury.

They were humble, kind and genuinely good people.

Lonnie told me he was an artist who paints portraits of dogs.

I immediately told him I wanted him to paint my dog, Dash.

Then he told me something that stopped me in my tracks.

He doesn’t charge people for the portraits.

He simply does them.

I asked them a little more about what they did, and I learned that they both work in biotech.

Two people with jobs, lives and their own responsibilities—just quietly doing nice things for other people.

Lonnie told me that once, when they were at the Short Hills Mall, someone anonymously paid their tab.

They were so touched by that gesture that they decided to start doing the same thing for other people.

And that night, they did it for us.

I started the day thinking I might win the lottery.

I bought the ticket.

I told my husband I had the winning ticket.

I told my son we were going to put our name on a building.

I manifested it.

But by the end of the night, I realized something:

I had already won the lottery.

Maybe the lottery ticket wasn’t the point after all.

Maybe the point was the reminder that the things we spend so much time chasing aren’t always the things that make us rich.

We should all be a little more like Diane and Lonnie.

You never know what someone is going through on the inside.

And One More Thing…

Over the years, so many of you have become much more than customers, vendors, colleagues or business contacts.

You’ve become friends.

You’ve become family.

I’ve spent nearly 30 years in this industry, and one of the things I value most is the relationships I’ve built along the way. Some of you I’ve known for decades. Some of you I may not speak with for months—or even years—but when we reconnect, it feels like no time has passed.

That’s what relationships mean to me.

I care about the people I work with. I care about their families, their lives, their successes and their struggles.

And that won’t change.

So whether you’re a customer, vendor, colleague, friend, or someone I’ve just met over two slices of pizza…

Life is too short not to answer the phone, share the pizza, make the introduction, tell someone you love them, or help someone who needs it.