Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Category: People Living Passionately

  • Happy Birthday Diego: The Honor of Attending a Birth

    Diego is two today, but the memories of his birth are as fresh as ever!  Happy birthday Diego!

    For six long days, Juliet’s labor started on and off. Every night, I tucked my phone under my pillow, waiting for the vibration that would signal the real deal. On Mon., Dec. 21, the phone sprang into action and I awoke at 6:30 a.m. to a text saying that the contractions were pretty strong and that the midwife was on her way over. We agreed to wait until the midwife arrived and then see if I should be on my way.

    Juliet and I met a few years back, when her daughter, Paula, was a toddler. I worked as a deaf mentor in the state’s early intervention program and provided mentoring services to her family, teaching sign language and answering questions about growing up hard of hearing and becoming deaf. Juliet and I connected in more ways than one – we both shared a love of writing and an interest in natural birth. When Juliet became pregnant with her second baby, I casually offered to be a doula for her. She took me up on the offer. We met for lunch and discussed her plans for the upcoming birth.

    Years ago, I studied to become a doula with the intention of making a career out of it. I had the honor of attending several births, including an amazing home water birth where the midwife walked in as the mom was pushing. My third child was born at home, but since I was induced with Cytotec, his birth wasn’t quite the “natural” birth that I had anticipated. I later went on to write an article for Midwifery Today about the dangers of Cytotec and a chapter in the book, “Don’t Cut Me Again.” As the years progressed, the idea of becoming a full-time doula took a back seat to my other jobs.

    I was looking forward to attending Juliet’s homebirth that morning, but she soon texted to say that the contractions had stopped completely. At 4 p.m., her water broke. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the ingredients for the soup that I planned to make and headed out into the rush hour. I figured it would take me an hour to get there, but the cars in front of me moved aside and let me pass.

    When I arrived, Juliet was in the middle of hard labor but still smiling and talking. Joel, her husband, was holding her and rocking her back and forth. I took one look at Juliet’s legs and ankles- she was retaining quite a bit of water and her skin looked as if it would burst. I sat down to massage her legs and feet and get some of the swelling down. Paula was bouncing back and forth between the rooms, stopping to rub Juliet’s shoulder and then running off to watch a movie in her room.

    “Are you excited about meeting your baby brother or sister?” I signed.

    “Yes, I am!”

    Paula chattered and signed and moved in circles, going from her parent’s bedroom and back in to her own. I could literally feel the excitement radiating from her. She furrowed her brow when the contractions came in waves and Juliet vocalized her pain, but quickly smiled when we reassured her that everything was moving along as it should.

    The labor slowed a bit. During that time, Juliet’s husband stayed with her and I read a few books to Paula. After a while, I joined the midwife and her apprentice in the living room as we waited for labor to speed up again. The soup was cooking slowly on the stove and we helped ourselves to some dinner.

    Juliet was incredibly tired from the six days of on and off labor and it was beginning to show on her face. She pushed in several different positions, trying to get rid of the lip that was stubbornly hanging on. She moved to the birth stool and slowly, the baby began moving down. It wasn’t quite fast enough for Juliet.

    “Tell me you’re feeling some ears!” she said to the midwife. “You better be feeling ears!” The midwife laughed.

    Juliet moved back to the bed. Joel held up one leg and I held the other and everyone gave some encouraging words. Juliet threw herself into every push, finding energy deep down for each one. “That was a good one!” the midwife said. I looked down and saw the baby’s head begin to appear.

    “Juliet! Feel your baby! Your baby is being born!” I said. Juliet reached down and then gave a huge push. The head. Another push. The shoulders. Several more pushes. Then a whole baby.

    Diego Ruben, at a hefty 8 pounds, 6 ounces, entered the world at 9:40 p.m. on December 21st. The winter solstice, a day that signifies the birth of winter and the longest night.

    What a beautiful night.

  • Meeting Janet Attwood, Author of The Passion Test

    “You have to read The Passion Test,” said my friend, Stephen Hopson last year. Stephen is a transformational speaker who is also deaf and he’s a dear friend of mine. I was a little hesitant about ordering yet another book, because I had promised the hubby not to add any more books to the piles around the house.  But there I was, sitting in front of the computer, trusting the recommendation of my friend and ordering Janet and Chris Attwood’s book.

    A year later, what can I say… The Passion Test, along with Aspire by Kevin Hall,  and the Yes to Success workshop with Debra Poneman changed my life.  I created a vision board and vision list.   “When you are clear, what you want will show up in your life, and only to the extent that you are clear,” I learned from The Passion Test. There were specific things that I wanted to accomplish and I wrote them all down.  I knew the order of my passions. The list was a long one, but I didn’t hold back.   Between the books and the workshop, life was going in a whole new direction. “Passions are about process. Goals are about outcomes,” Janet and Chris wrote. People who have witnessed the change in my life the last year and half have remarked that I seem to always be having fun.  But that’s exactly what life is about– having fun, enjoying it to the fullest and being happy in the process.  And when life lines up with your passions and your purpose, then it is indeed filled with lots of joy.

    Whenever you are faced with a choice, a decision, or an opportunity, choose in favor of your passions.

    “Meet Janet Attwood,” was on my vision list, and last night, I spent a magical two hours in the company of Janet Attwood as she shared her journey that lead to the book and her amazing life. Earlier in the week, I had an interpreter lined up along with a back up interpreter.  Both ended up not being able to attend. At the last minute, I made countless calls to try and locate another interpreter.  I resigned myself to a night of lipreading, but as it turned out, Janet was so easy to understand that I was able to sit back and enjoy the evening.

    Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Chicago to soak in another day with Janet.  This workshop is hosted by Positive Focus Productions.  Janet will focus on:

    • How to discover your top five passions
    • The one secret that guarantees a passionate life
    • The three keys to creating anything you choose to have in your life
    • Learn how to live with less anxiety and fear
    • Experience a deeper connection with the most important people in your life including yourself
    • Experience a new sense of vigor and well-being

    The Passion Test is featured in the November issue of Oprah’s O Magazine. Quite simply, it will change your life.

    Following Your Bliss

     

  • Chicken Soup for the Soul and MORE magazine

    This past January, at a Yes to Success seminar with Debra Poneman, we spent some time writing down goals and accomplishments that we wanted to achieve in one month, one year and five years.  We also listed 100 things to do before we kicked the bucket.  I wrote “be in a major magazine” and “publish a story in Chicken Soup for the Soul” as two of the things I wanted to accomplish.  What I really meant for the magazine goal was to publish an article, but as it turned out, Andrea Atkins from MORE magazine did an article on “I Didn’t Know I Had It In Me” for the November issue.  MORE flew out two photographers from NY to do a photo shoot at the Barefoot Ski Ranch in Texas the day before the Nationals.  Despite two hours of pictures and several runs up and down the lake, to my surprise, they selected a picture of me sitting on the boat instead of standing on the water:

    I’ve always loved the Chicken Soup for the Soul books and years ago, I casually said to myself, “I’d like to get a chapter published.”  But I never wrote down the goal, nor did I actively pursue it.  It wasn’t until the Yes to Success seminar that I put it in black and white in front of me.  I finally visited the Chicken Soup for the Soul website and browsed through their upcoming books.  “Find Your Happiness” was the title of an upcoming book and the deadline for submissions was a short time away.  I sat down and wrote.  Less than an hour later, I was done writing.  I gave it a quick once over and hit the send button.

    In early July, I received an email that I nearly deleted because I didn’t recognize the sender and didn’t pay attention to the subject line.  It was from the editor:

    July 8, 2011

    Dear Karen,

    Your story “The Best Years of Life Are Still Ahead  ” has made it to the final selection round for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Happiness. Only a small percent of the submitted stories have made it this far. The vast majority of stories in this “last round” will appear in the book, but we do not make the final decisions until about a month before the publication date.

    As you can see, the story did make it to the final round when I received a box of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Find Your Happiness books:

    So today, it’s your turn. Start your list of 100 things you’d like to accomplish, do or achieve.  Share some of those in the comments section.  And along the way, let me know what you check off that list.

     

  • Karen Putz in Ability Magazine

    Check out the current issue of Ability magazine, featuring “Standing on Her Own Two Feet,” which chronicles my return to barefoot water skiing.  The story also features Keith St. Onge, but unfortunately, they left out Judy Myers!   It was the hubby who found the link to the Today show segment that lead me to Judy Myers, who lead me to Keith and the World Barefoot Center.  Life did a 180!  Thank you, Keith, Judy and Joe– for turning it all around.

    To receive a free digi-issue of Ability magazine, click the “Like” button on Facebook:  Free Issue of Ability Magazine

  • Sponsor Spotlight: General Motors and Driving the Midwest

    In early August, I will be heading down to the Barefoot Ski Ranch in Waco, Texas in a brand new Chevrolet, thanks to Connie Burke from General Motors. I met Connie at a Chicago Social Media Club event earlier this year and she told me about her program, Driving the Midwest.

    Connie Burke has been working for General Motors for 26 years, but her recent position as a Communications Manager has been the most exciting, thrilling, satisfying position she’s ever worked in.  Not only is Connie part of the social media team at General Motors, but as part of her job, she gets to hand out cars to folks all over the Midwest.

    “Driving the Midwest was an outgrowth of the social media program that we created in Chicago, called  Chevy Missions,” said Connie.  “Chevy recognized people that were making a difference in their community.  We gave vehicles to help those were were making a difference in the community –whatever their passion was we wanted them to experience it with our cars.”

    Driving the Midwest program began in March, 2011 as one of five regions, and includes all of the General Motors brands, Chevy, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.  “We’ve received good feedback about this program, and people fall in love with our products as a result,” Connie explained.   “We have a lot of fuel-efficiency vehicles, like the new Chevy Cruze— a  small car that feels like a mid-size car–and it gets up to 42 miles per gallon.   Our cars have improved so much over the years.  We’ve added features like Bluetooth, separate entertainment systems, a 30 gig hard drive that holds iPod music and even the Onstar parking assistance which includes a back-up camera.  We’ve added lots of safety features as well.”

    Of all of the keys she’s handed out under the program, the most memorable one for Connie was handing the keys over to Mark Horvath prior to the SOBCon 2011 conference in Chicago.  Mark is known for his work with people who are homeless.  His mission is to teach people how to use the internet to search for jobs– and break the cycle of homelessness.  They may not have a physical address, but as long as they have email and wifi access, Mark teaches them how to make things happen.    “That was the best day of my career– it was very emotional,” said Connie.  “Just to see his face light up…  He realized that his hard work was recognized–that his work is really important.  That’s the part of my job that is really validating, honoring people who make a difference.”

    There’s no typical day at work for Connie, as she’s involved in all kinds of events.  One day, she might be on a baseball field helping to clean up, the next day she will be at an event such as the Detroit Motor City Pride or speaking at a conference.   Just recently, she kicked off Theresa Carter’s Route 66 Tour to raise money for Endure to Cure.  Just before that, she handed over a Chevy Cruze to Melisa Wells, who just released a book, “Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go.”  The back of the truck was chock full of useful donations for the Ronald McDonald house. 

    I feel extremely blessed to soon be the recipient of a vehicle from General Motors for our trip to the Barefoot Nationals in August.   Two years ago, on my 44th birthday, I spent that day feeling down and missing my youthful days of barefoot water skiing.  Now two years later this August, I’ll be celebrating my birthday with my family, and a whole new community of barefooting friends— what an incredible blessing!   Thank you, Connie Burke and General Motors for making this possible!

     

  • Karen Putz in Suburban Woman Magazine

    You know those thick magazines that you find in the doctor’s offices around town?  Well, you’ll find me in Suburban Woman:

    Deaf Mom Barefoots Her Way to Weight Loss

    And in other news, you’ll find me talking about drive-thru access using the Order Assist at Culver’s restaurants:

    Culver’s Program Helps Deaf Place Orders

    A bit ironic, since the drive-thru is a rare thing for me now.  At least Culver’s has some good salads!

  • Karen Putz Interview –The Pearls

    On June 4th, I will be heading to LA to join 19 other deaf woman for the The Pearls event.   It is a wonderful honor to be included with such an amazing group of deaf women and I look forward to meeting them all.   The event is modeled after Oprah’s The Legends Weekend, where Oprah honored a group of African-American women who made history by paving the way for other women.   

    Here’s the video interview that I did for The Pearls (captions, ASL and transcript included) :

    Karen Putz Video Interview

  • Karen and Judy’s Story: Growing Bolder on PBS

    Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Shafer from the TV show, Growing Bolder, which is broadcast on PBS stations nationwide.  Bill, and cameraman, Jason Morrow, were on hand at the World Barefoot Center to capture the story of how I met Judy “The Old Lady” Myers and went back to barefoot water skiing after becoming deaf from a barefooting fall as a teen.   Bill is the Executive Vice President of Growing Bolder Media and was a news anchor for WESH Channel 2 for 25 years.  From the moment I met Bill, I was instantly comfortable with him and it was easy to see why he is considered one of America’s best storytellers– within minutes, he was entertaining us with stories of people he interviewed over the years!

    I first discovered the Growing Bolder website while doing some research on Banana George for a book that I’m working on.  From the first moment I set eyes on the site, I was intrigued by the stories of people living bold, exciting lives.  Growing Bolder is about folks who break the boundaries of ageism, and it’s reflected in their motto:  “It’s not about age, it’s about attitude.”  Growing Bolder reminds us that we don’t have to settle for ho-hum lives as we get older– we can break the stereotypes and reinvent ourselves along the way.

    After interviewing me and Judy– Bill and Jason joined us in the boat with Keith St. Onge.  “Watch me fall in front of the camera,” I dryly remarked to Judy as we walked toward the dock.  Sure enough, I went tumbling in the water on the first deep water start.   There’s a lesson right there– don’t go entertaining negative thoughts or you’ll put them right into action.

    “Watch what she does on water,” I told Bill, as Judy got ready to do some barefooting.  “You won’t believe she’s 68!”   It was amusing to watch Bill’s mouth fall open as Judy did one foots, toe holds, tumble turns and backwards.   When it was my turn, I shakily lifted my foot for a short one-foot ride and then did some backwards barefooting on shoes.  I ditched the shoes to try a backwards start on my feet and made it up for a very brief ride before falling over.  Judy claims it is an official “you got up and rode it” start, but I’ll have to wait to see the evidence on the Growing Bolder show.

    Growing Bolder is broadcast on over 250 PBS stations.  To check if it will be shown in your area:  Growing Bolder TV by Zip Code.  If you don’t see your local station listed, you can contact your station and ask them to add the show to their line up.

    “I feel like I’ve known you for fifteen years,” Bill said as he hugged me goodbye.  “Except you’re not that old!” he grinned.

    Karen, Bill and Keith

  • Women’s Barefoot Week Featured in Waterski Magazine

    Back in November, 2010, I spent a week barefooting with gals from all over the U.S.  We gathered at the World Barefoot Center for a week of fun skimming on the water.  Waterski magazine joined us for a morning and took a snapshot of all of us barefooting off two booms, two boats (see below).   The article and short clip about my return to barefooting are in the March issue of Waterski magazine.

    Waterskier magazine included a blurb about Women’s week in their newsletter (reprinted below).  The World Barefoot Center will host another Women’s Barefoot Week in November and it promises to fill up fast, so reserve your spot!  This is your only chance to see Keith St. Onge, David Small and Swampy in a dress!

    WOMEN’S BAREFOOT WEEK

    Judy “Old Lady” Meyers, 67, is on a mission to prove that barefooting is not just a sport for the physically young, but is a sport that everyone, especially women of all ages, can safely enjoy.

    Judy organized the recent “Women’s Week” barefoot clinic at the World Barefoot Center, Nov. 1-6, in Winter Haven, Fla. Fifteen women’s barefooters – 12 over the age of 40, with four of those being over age 60 – enjoyed a week of barefooting and camaraderie.

    World Barefoot Center

    ‘Footers pictured above are (back row, left-to-right): Keith St. Onge and Lauren Lindeman, World Barefoot Center; Karen Putz, Chicago, Ill.; Claudia Landon, Post Falls, Idaho; Judy Myer, Alpine, Calif.; Coach Gary “Swampy” Bouchard, World Barefoot Center; Valerie Shinn, Redmond, Wash.; David Small, World Barefoot Center; Lorraine Piskura, New Fairfield, Conn; (Kneeling, left-to-right): Charlene Portman, Clearwater, Fla.; Joann O’Connor, Oshkosh, Wis.; Kay Wiser, Winter Haven, Fla.; and Lisa Browning, Winter Haven, Fla.

    For information about women’s barefooting and future events, contact Judy at oldbarefooter@mac.com.

  • A Size Six? You Gotta Be Kidding

    Over on AOL That’s Fit, I shared my story of losing weight and taking up barefoot water skiing again.   Here’s the link:

    Karen Rediscovered Her Passion

    The story was posted earlier in the week and was featured on the front of the AOL website several times.   Emails, tweets and Facebook messages have been coming in, mostly with people expressing shock at the before picture.  At a recent ZVRS presentation, a senior citizen came up to me and said, “Wow, you lost weight!  That’s much better!  You were so fat before!”  Gotta love those seniors, they tell it like it is, in colorful sign language.

    My oldest son even did a double-take at the photo of me.  “Mom, I didn’t realize you were that… big,” he said.  He glanced at me and then came over and gave me a hug. 

    Debra Poneman, the gal behind the “Yes to Success” seminars, said, “I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the photo of you at 220 on the That’s Fit article.”  

    Well, Debra, you and me, both.  I guess that’s why I avoided the scale and the mirror for a long, long time.

    I still have a ways to go to get rid of the rest of the pounds.  It’s a work in progress.  During the last couple of weeks, I have been going to Bikram Yoga.  Most days, I actually enjoy the challenge of getting through 90 minutes of poses in a hot, hot, hot room.   Then there are other days when I want to run screaming out of the room into a tub of ice.

    The most amusing part of the whole losing weight saga has been the comments left on the That’s Fit story.  Here’s one:

    I am really happy for her and her weight loss. But somehow I find myself wondering when I read this article and many magazine articles where people are said to “finally buy a size 6 jean” at 168 lbs??? I bobble between 158-162 and I am in a 12 comfortably and can still squeeze in my 10’s on a good day. I might get one leg in a 6. Exactly what kind of jeans are these people buying??

    I have two pairs of size six jeans, one from St. John’s Bay and the other from Target.  At 168 pounds, people are scratching their heads trying to figure out how that could possibly be true.  I wonder the same thing myself at times, because I weigh exactly the same as I did back in November when the barefooting photo was taken, yet have gone down two sizes since then.  But then again, jeans vary in sizes like crazy.  I can’t get into a size six in jeans from Eddie Bauer. 

    So to give you an idea of my jeans one year ago and my jeans today, take a look: