Rollercoasters and Radio Mics- Lou's life in four words!
I'll be on Midlands 103 Radio somewhere between 9am-12midday Irish time on Monday - come join my rollercoaster life :)
**If you might enjoy listening to this letter being read to you out loud, just hit the play button up above and I will read my words to you with heart, soul and a whole lot of me included..and Daisy says hello too x
Hey there my lovely Substack family.
First off apologies for being so quiet of late….
I’ve been up and down the rollercoaster that is called life the last few months…And for anyone that knows me well, I am not a rollercoaster kind of girl. I will watch you on every whirlymajig in the fairground and I’ll even hold your coat and pay your fare but no thanks, I’ll stay on the ground for now and forever when it comes to rollercoasters but off late, LIFE has given me no choice and i’ve been sitting in the front seat of a rollercoaster. I’ve cried lots. I’ve doubted myself. I’ve doubled down on the days that I needed to go quiet but on all days I’ve never shied away from the shadows that life has being throwing me. If anything I’ve faced them head on. People I love need my help, support and even my shield so I’ve stepped forward and remained firm in taking care of the people I love until this ride is over. As part of this very deep intrinsic learning chapter of my life, I also fell victim to that terrible dose that is doing the rounds. I found myself with an onset of a form of pneumonic on my lungs, fever, aches and pains and I was bed bound for over a week and a half. I’ve managed to bring myself back on track - by listening to my body. Now I know self praise is no praise at all but over the years I’ve got really good at listening to my body when it tells me ‘LOU - you gotta slow down’….So I slowed down, healed but I still haven’t completely knocked this cough out of me. This dose is doing the rounds in Ireland and I now know it’s all around the world never mind just here on the Emerald Isle. It’s not Covid, I’ve done every test in the kit but it’s an awful dose altogether. so please do try keep yourself well and if you do feel something brewing, get yourself to the doc straight away - antibiotics and steroids seem to be the only remedy along with time in bed and a bit of a waiting game all round. Honey and hot water helps a lot with the cough along with making sure you drink lots of fluids. It will knock you for six but just go with your body and take to the bed. I was feeling fairly good last week and thought to myself ‘yes maybe this is over’….but over the last few days this fecking divil of a cough has made its way back into my lungs so I’m now back on antibiotics and steroids once again. Hopefully this time I will finally give it a final kick and full health for the summer will take its place. I guess the reason I’m sharing this is just in case you too have a dose and are thinking to yourself are you the only one under the weather? I always think when you are sick, there is comfort in knowing it’s something doing the rounds. And also between us, we can all figure out how to kick it out of our bodies. Together we can help each other even when we are sick x Together is always better no matter what the problem is xx
So that’s the pain in the face news out of the way haha ;) Overall I am very grateful that in life I have been blessed with good health and these blips of doses and periods of bed rest are a good reminder for me, the value of good health. There is nothing like being temporarily sick to remind me of the blessing that day to day good health is. I am very grateful and I look forward to be cough-less and being back to my fully fit self.
To balance out this news update, I will now move to my headline news of this Substack. If you might be free or might like to share in my good news, tomorrow I will be on the airwaves (drugged up to the max & also full of tea) with the fantastic Will Faulkner of Midlands 103. Last week I received a phone call from the ever lovely and talented producer of ‘Midlands Today’ to see if I might be free to co-host with Will Faulkner on the mid morning radio show. I’m not really sure what my role will entail, so I’ve decided to not panic too much and just keep my focus on being myself. I usually don’t feel nervous but I haven’t sat into a fully live 3 hour radio show in about 15 years. I did work in radio many moons ago but my body, my mind, my heart, my confidence and inner self Lou as mentioned in previous paragraphs has been on a lot of wobbly rollercoasters of late. So I guess it’s normal to feel a bit wobbly inside. But even at that, I lean back into the advice I used to give my own musicans when I used to mentor them back in the day….if anyone ever said to me ‘Lou I feel nervous’. My response was steadfast and consistent and in this moment I must listen to myself and take my own advice. My response without fail was always the same ‘Nerves are always a good thing. They mean you care about what you are going to do. And that is always a good thing. Imagine that there is a part of you that is saying you care about this and those nerves will instantly turn into sharp focus when the red light and mic switch on.’ So here I am writing and reading my own advice and leaning exactly into that. This is a wonderful opportunity and it a wonderful reminder that I am doing something right in the world. My efforts in this life are never loud or extroverted, but instead I am a steadfast, chip away kind of person. I like to work hard and make effort in every part of my life. Sometimes I see return, sometimes I doubt it all but at the end of the day I know I am here to be me. I am here to speak from my heart. I am here to share my mind and I am here to reach out to people in the only way I know how - through the power of the word. I am an advocate of the power of the voice and that is why my love for radio has always been so great. It is also why I am so passionate in doing my fb lives and when Substack released the option to do audio voiceovers I was straight on that. I believe my voice and yours are wonderful gifts and our words, our delivery of our messages from our souls, our hearts and our inner selves are a gift when used in the right way.
So tomorrow I will arrive in Kinnegad to the outside broadcast unit with Midlands 103 and I will be myself. I have been guesting on the Friday Panel with Midlands 103 for the last number of years so I’m very comfortable with Will and when that bounce in my stomach does a few somersaults I will say to myself, Lou you have been through many storms in life and this is not one. This is something you are good at. This is something is many ways I am made for. If I am behind a microphone for 5 minutes or 50 I will be fine once I remember to be myself. I am a human and being myself is my greatest asset. In recent times, my confidence has been knocked due to the worries of my heart taking over the thoughts of my mind but tonight as I write this, I know I will be ok. I will do a good job in that I will bring the best of me forward and this is a wonderful opportunity to be given. I will wake up early. I will follow my morning routine. Tea. Prayers. Music. Deep thinking. I will talk to the sky. I will listen to the birds. I will reflect on this great morning that I have been seen and people in the industry have invited me to be part of this broadcast. Co-hosting is fun and I will show up and give it socks.
If you might like listen to me tomorrow, on Monday 27th May somewhere between the hours of 9-12midday (Irish time), you can tune in here on this link:
If you are FB family or Substack family and you might live near Kinnegad, County Westmeath, we will be broadcasting outside Scanlon’s Pub on the Main Street and I would love to see you along. I will wave, hug and smile at you and be thrilled to see your smiling face.
Thank you for your support, friendship and kindness always and thank you for believing in me. I hope you know how important you are to me.
Your belief in me keeps me going in ways I will never be able to explain.
On a final note, I am going to share a little video I recorded during the week to remind me and you how important is it that we continue to work on ourselves inside and out. During the last five months I’ve been digging really deep inside myself in ways I know will pay off in the years to come. I’ve been working hard on the shadow sides of myself, as many of you know the theme of 2024 is based on the book of the Four Agreements particularly focusing on ‘not taking things personally’ along with stretching my own focus on topics such as forgiveness - letting things go - acceptance of tough realities and also on creating an inner peace that moves with me but stays within me too. It’s been a big year for Lou so far and there is a big year still to come. It was not as I planned but overall I am proud of how I’ve dug deep when I’ve needed too, I haven’t lost my head when everyone has lost theirs and I have stuck to my guts of trusting in fate carrying my through my life and living a life well lived with no regrets, only love and friendship as my core values. To love others, I am loving myself. To love myself, I am loving others. I hope you enjoy this little video I recored and somewhere in my words, I hope you feel my energy of healing, hope and friendship that I am sending to you as we walk this path of life together. Rollercoasters will come and go but friends are irreplaceable and good eggs like you keep me looking up and leaning in.
Here’s to fun on the radio tomorrow and fun in life forever more together my dearest friend,
Thanks a million for reading all the way down here and if you listened to the audio thank you for bringing me on your walk, maybe you cleaned out your fridge or made your dinner but you trusted me with you time and I am so grateful for that.
Love ya lots Substack Family.
Keep looking up starbars.
We’ve got this. We just need to keep going. Keep believing in each other. Keep loving each other and stay close x
Lou xxx
Quote for you to hold onto this week: “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
I love to read your words so feel free to leave a comment if you have time or want to share your thoughts. I appreciate you being part of my world and for all you give to our community. Together we are so much more than we could ever be by being alone x
Hi sorry missed you on the radio today was busy but I'm sure you did good job . X
We always have your back, waiting for you to have your own radio show now.
It's so great I can listen here in the U. S.
💜