The week of February 17th, 2020 started out with a little tension. My Nana was admitted into the hospital with pneumonia. She fought this 2 years prior and beat it, so it was a little tense but I felt good about her health. I captured my business week in "Top of Mind". Typically, I would cover the next week in business and share a lesson. However, I had a month that felt like 1 long week. It was all a blur.
On February 22nd, 2020, my Nana, Gabriella Carfagno went home to be with the Lord. I've never experienced loss like this in my life. I've shared on recent episodes about my mom and her battle with COVID-19. My Nana was my second mom. My dad would pick me up on weekends and take me to his parent's house in Plymouth Meeting, PA. I would stay there and spend the majority of time with my Nana & Pop-Pop. They raised me half of the week, while my mom did the other. As much as I love my dad, I always say that Nana & Pop were my parents. They taught me by example a lasting & enduring marriage. That's why the GE culture that I talk about in "Top of Mind" rubbed me the wrong way. Nana & Pop-Pop were my rocks growing up. Nana loved on me as her own son, tirelessly serving all of my needs. Pop-Pop was the man I sought approval and affirmation. They are a huge reason we left NY to come back home to the Philly Area in 2018. They were over 80 at that point and we didn't know how much longer we had. We wanted to spend Sunday dinners with them verses quarterly trips from NY. Anyway, the week Nana was in the hospital was a roller coaster. She was okay, then on a ventilator and fighting for her life, then okay and I was making plans with case management for her to go home. Then she was on life support and gone. I was there by her side the whole week. This would not have been possible if I was still in NY. Since this is a podcast to help others, I'm trying to speak outwardly verses inwardly as I have been in a lot of pain over her loss.
So let me give you all a kick in the butt. Are you stuck in a job you hate? Do you have loved ones at distance that you don't see enough? Do you talk all the time about making a change, yet remain in your comfortable life? What are you waiting for!? I was there in the summer of 2017. We were living in NY for 15 years and desperately wanting to come home. We were comfortable in our life, friends, church, and super-optimized solo cleaning business. I'm so thankful that we made the move, otherwise I would have missed those precious final moments with my Nana and the ability to keep my Pop company and love on him as he suffered the loss of his wife of 63 1/2 years. I'm thankful to my dear friends Vincent Pugliese, Billy Altman, and Ed Weidman for encouraging me to follow our dream. I'm thankful for Ian Traynor for trusting in me and the solo cleaning business I built as he made the sale & transition so simple for me to leave. We are humbled and so grateful. I miss you Nana!
Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website