My name is Jen McFatter. I am soon to be 40-years-old, not that I am thinking about that. However, December 30th is a big one for me this year! I am a mom of two children and wife to a loving husband for almost 16 years. I have an 8-year-old very active boy and a 10-year-old independent and free-spirited girl.
I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida with parents who were a strong example of faith, love and living life to the fullest. I met my husband while working for a Major League Baseball team, which was my dream job. Within a year, we moved to Tallahassee and got married. I began a new life which meant new career, a new town and new friends.
We lived in Tallahassee for 13 years and things were good. But I bounced from job to job…never really finding pleasure in any of them. My husband and I decided to start a family and I got pregnant quickly. However, my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. I was able to get pregnant again and we had our first child, a baby girl; twenty-one months later our son arrived.
When did you realize something was missing from your life? I don’t really know that I ever hit a specific moment where I stopped and thought something was missing. I tend to go through periods in my life where it feels like Groundhog Day and I need a change. But my entire mindset changed in a span of a couple of years when my father was diagnosed with Leukemia and lost his battle at age 57, my mom was diagnosed a second time with breast cancer, and my 41-year-old brother was diagnosed with colon cancer. My mom and brother survived their battles and are two of the strongest people I know!
During that time, I had every test and scan imaginable…I told myself this cancer crap is not going to get me! If my mom and dad taught me anything by example, it was to live life to the fullest. Grab what you have today and hold on tight because it might not be there tomorrow.
How did you start feeding your soul? It was at this point that I started to see how the effects of stress from work were having on me and my family. Endless conference calls and emails were spilling over into the time I needed to be spending completely dedicated to my loved ones. But I couldn’t manage it all and the stress had taken over. After many conversations about what we envisioned for our family, my husband and I agreed no job was worth the sacrifice of my health. It was time to make some changes to enrich my life, my soul and feed my body with positive energy. I wanted to live a full life for my family. So, after long nights wrestling with my decision to make a change, I finally left corporate America to pursue my passion of becoming a yoga instructor.
I was going to yoga regularly for a couple of years and I absolutely loved it. It took me to a place of serenity. I found I was a better person when I spent time practicing yoga; better to myself and better to my family. However, the thought of actually teaching a class terrified me to the core. But I took the plunge; I enrolled in an instructor’s class and spent one weekend each month devoting time to myself. And yes, the first few times I stood up in front of a group of people to teach a class was as scary as I imagined. But, I got through it, and I actually enjoyed it. And I learned more about myself than I ever expected.
How has this changed your life? Yoga has become a release and an escape from my daily stresses. It allows me to close out all the distractions and focus on myself. I find that a daily dose of yoga is not only good for my body, but even better for my mind.
Becoming a yoga instructor has taught me to take one day at a time and enjoy every moment. I feel gratification being able to offer a place for others to experience the same results from their yoga practice –it makes the butterflies of teaching all worth it. And it inspires me to be the best teacher possible. My children have even taken what they have learned from joining my classes and taught their classmates a few things.
I am a true believer everything happens for a reason. I know each mind-numbing job I have had, and every moment I have experienced -good or bad – has gotten me to where I am today. I have a choice be happy and live life to the fullest, and I made that choice a reality.
But my life isn’t perfect. Just like every other mom, I still struggle to find the energy to get it all done. To be there for my children and my husband and meet all of their needs. I have days I just want to curl up on the couch and watch reality TV for hours and I have come to realize, that’s ok. The struggle to be the perfect mom is real. The struggle to be everything to everyone is never-ending. But I am blessed to know that each day I wake up is a new beginning. And the older I get, the more I realize if you are always racing to the next moment you won’t enjoy the moment you are in. Be Here. Now.
Jen currently teaches yoga at Battleship Crossfit in Panama City Beach, FL. She also offers beach yoga in various places in PCB. For more information, email Jen at jenmcfatter@comcast.net.
