How the Grinch Taught Me to Make an Omelette | Angela Wilder | TEDxWinstonSalemWomen
[Music] there are two things from my childhood that I go back to over and over again the first one is the dr. Seuss's classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas you'll remain one mr. Grinch wreaths are healed you know the one I'm talking about right yeah so that and my mother is the other one saying don't put all your eggs in the same basket you just might drop it well ten years ago I had an idea and for the sake of this conversation let's call it a basket now despite my mother's voice in the back of my mind I put all of my eggs into that basket I put a great concept into that basket I put years and years of my time into that basket I put my energy and my enthusiasm into that basket and I put my faith in the intellectual property laws of this nation to protect my intellectual property that I put into my basket and I put my belief that after all these years I had finally found the thing that would allow me to make a good living and to secure my financial future I put all of those things into my basket and then you're a mean one mr. Grinch you really are heel you're as cuddly as a cactus you were slimy as an you mr. Grinch yeah that's right The Grinch showed up and just like in the movie when he comes down the chimney and he takes that itty-bitty crumb from that teeny weeny house mouse I was left with nothing nothing you see this basket for me was like my right brother's basket it was the one thing that should it take flight I knew I would not only have a better life for myself I would be able to make a difference in the lives of so many women who like myself were grappling with the extraordinary challenges of modern motherhood but no I had done exactly what my mother warned me not to do and so here I am no basket gone just like the Hoos and that basket and everything in it was the very last reason I had to continue living in Los Angeles so I put my camera which for me it's kind of like a kidney I take it pretty much everywhere I go my laptop my favorite bed pillow and two pair of clean underwear because my mother also used to say and I bet some of you your mother's just to say this to always be sure to wear clean underwear because if you get in an accident and have to go to the hospital so I put all of that into my car and I headed east on Interstate 40 and three days and 2142 miles later I arrived at the place where I knew I knew I could find refuge and that was in the home and in the arms of the person who had warned me about putting my eggs in that basket in the first place my mom hopelessness became my closest companion and self-loathing wasn't very far behind I spent my days sitting on the back porch and I spent my nights watching Turner Classic Movies one after another after another I had no more baskets I had no more eggs all that there was was me my thoughts and time well you know dr. Seuss said you can ask your teacher for help but you're going to have to learn a lot by your self sitting alone in a room well the great outdoors that back porch that had become my room and I certainly was alone but it seemed to me that the only thing that I was learning was how to waste time and what it felt like to be utterly totally consumed with misery that is until mr. Johnson who has already made his appearance came into my life now you weren't supposed to see mr. Johnson yet but since he's already up there I'm going to tell you mr. Johnson for me at first sight left me breathless and speechless and speechlessness rarely happens to me he was stunningly handsome majestic and strong you know I know a lot of people talk about love at first sight we kind of throw that around it's just a throwaway phrase but for me this was love at first sight and I have to tell you that after I shortly shortly after I made my acquaintance with mr. Johnson I learned that he had an equally exquisite significant other think like Michelle and Barack Obama or George and Amal Clooney and that is mrs. Johnson the Johnsons the Johnsons they saved my life they became the reason that I got out of bed every morning now instead of wasting my time I was spending my time waiting and watching and with my ubiquitous camera I began to document their amazing lives yeah amazing you know I am NOT one of those people who can rattle off eloquent passages of Scripture but I have to tell you and and for no reason that I can put my finger on there is one that around this time became embedded in my consciousness and it says look at the birds of the air they do not reap they do not sow or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not much more valuable than they I'm telling you I started to have what I have heard Mehta physicians talk about is that still small voice telling me assuring me that the arrival of the Johnston's had far greater significance than being something pretty for me to take pictures of and it was if in that same moment I could hear Christmas morn now if you know the movie you know that that is the very song that rose up from Whoville on Christmas morning even though according to what their eyes were telling them the Hoos just like me had nothing nothing nothing to celebrate and yet they say they say and I'm going to tell you I think dr. Seuss would be pleased to know that's sitting alone in my room I did learn a lot by myself and my mother would be happy to know that I have taken her piece of motherly advice and fashioned it into a mantra which works for me it is one that I will pass on to my children as they navigate this thing we call time this thing we call life and it is an idea that I believe is worth sharing and that is if or when you drop your basket and you crack all of your eggs all is not lost all is lost you just pick out those shells and you make yourself an omelette thank you [Applause]