Page 114 - SpontaneousSuccessMatos

safe place for us and our children. It was friendly, quiet
and calm, surrounded by nature. We hiked, swam, hung
out, camped on the grounds. And we rode our horses.
But the move came with a steep price: my photographic
career and our dwindling savings, which vanished
quickly with three children in university and two in
nearby schools. But this time, I'd learned a lot about
starting over.
In 1998, I became seriously ill. The whole family was
frightened. Surgery followed, as did many treatments.
The children told Wendy, "Mummy, we'll be okay. You
focus on getting Daddy better."
Wendy established a rule: "there will be no weeping
and no sadness around Nick." At 5 p.m. every day, we
held 'happy hour' and opened a bottle of red wine. She
told visitors that only positive talk was allowed. But one
day, she needed to explode. She drove up the hill to a
spot with a 360-degree view, where the whole family
often went for picnics, got out of the car, banged on the
ground with her fists, and screamed.
On her way back, a huge stag stood on the hill,
staring at her. It didn't flinch as she passed. Wendy felt
the stag was saying, "It's all going to be okay."
From that day on, whenever anyone needed to
scream about anything, they'd go up to that spot. Even
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