Thoughts on saving your life.
I got wrapped up in a storm this past week that wasn’t mine. The good news is, I wasn’t the only one. The entire city of Austin, Texas, also appeared to get wrapped up in the storm. A local beloved influencer, Taylor Hannan, who goes by @AustinEater on Instagram, had the unthinkable happen to him.
Early in the morning on July 25, before the sun had come up, he was loading up his Red Honda Civic to head out for a trip. He started the car and turned on the A/C before putting his dog, Noodles, in the car. He went back into his house one last time and said he was gone less than a minute. By the time he came back out, someone had stolen his car with his dog Noodles in it.
I can’t imagine the feeling of helplessness he must have felt at that moment. He made an impassioned plea on his account, almost apologetically, but put it simply: “I need help!”
I became obsessed with the story after that, as did others. People started sharing his story, and it burned like a grass fire across the community and beyond. The local news picked up the story and ran a report, garnering even more attention. I think it was only a day later when the first bit of news came. They had found his car, completely gutted and destroyed, but there was no sign of his sweet dog.
The wildfire continued, and the news began to spread even further. Every day, as I grabbed my phone, the algorithm kept his story at the top of my feed, and every time I clicked it, I just KNEW in my gut that it would be him saying Noodles had been found. But it didn’t. My empathetic heart ached for him. I started praying hard for Noodles, because I believe in that kind of thing.
I prayed he wouldn’t be scared and that he would be found safe and sound.
A private investigator reached out to Taylor and offered his help for free. Local businesses began to offer rewards, including one that promised half off for life. The days kept passing, and still no Noodles. Taylor explained how Noodles was a quiet dog. That he likely didn’t make a sound when the car was stolen, and that the perpetrator probably didn’t even know he was there. He could have kept the dog or dropped him off, God knows where.
Then, seven days later, on August 1, I clicked on the story, and there it was. Noodles had been found. He was held in his dad’s arms, covered in brambles, looking like he had just seen some real 💩. I burst into tears. Over a dog. That I don’t know. But there is one more little detail to the story that I want to share.
Taylor had received a tip from someone who claimed to have seen Noodles in a park in an outlying town, about 20 minutes from Austin. Taylor rushed over but found nothing. The private investigator called, and Taylor told him about the tip and the park. The investigator said that it was on his way home and he would stop by. Ten minutes later, he called Taylor and told him he had found Noodles!
The shy dog had stepped out from the safety of the bushes and made himself seen long enough to be saved—that sweet, brave baby.
I’ve found that when we’re scared, all we want to do is hide. We want to duck under the covers. Hide our eyes and pray that someone saves us. But if you know anything about life, it never seems to work out that way. It’s only when we make ourselves vulnerable enough to say, ‘I need help,’ that it starts to change.
Two years ago, I left the man I loved more than life because he was hurting me. The pain was overwhelming, and most days I wondered if it’s the kind of pain that ever goes away or if you just learn to live with it. My happy ending and the life I wanted had disappeared into the void. I made the hard choice of self-love. Which I know was the right choice, it always is, and one I will never regret, regardless of the pain.
And I said, I need help.
Help has continuously come to me. Friends who were acquaintances became lifelong supportive travelers with me. Old friends rallied alongside me and held me up until I could hold myself again. Even when I didn’t know a need was coming, people I love more than anything could see and meet a need before I knew it was there. (You all know who you are. And I love you!)
It’s the hardest thing in the world to step out from your safe spot and allow yourself to be seen when life is difficult, especially in this day and age of social media perfectionism. I saw that Paulina Porzikova posted two bikini snaps this past week. One was in perfect airbrushed lighting, and the other was bathed in realism. One hid the aging skin and the other displayed it, allowing women of ” a certain age” across the universe to release a collective sigh of relief. She said, both are me. She’s sixty and still looks like perfection to me.
She is an excellent example of someone who made her and her struggles seen after leaving a toxic relationship, and for a time, ending up in financial straits. Her husband had controlled all of her finances, and after a lifetime making millions, she suddenly found herself with the fuzzy end of the lollipop. She shared her struggles and tears, and was met with mixed results. Many would offer their disgust, but many, like myself, felt encouraged by her authenticity.
She passed through her grief and struggles. The jobs have flowed to her, and she’s met a beautiful soul, with whom she has recently become engaged. She glows now. She let the haters hate and continued undeterred on her self-love journey.
I’ve been telling myself that it’s okay to be “seen” again. Even though it’s oddly uncomfortable these days. If you know anything about me and my career, I made a life out of being seen in ways that surprise even me. I often feel like I need to apologize for my age, which I hope to overcome soon.
However, throughout the past week, I think Noodles offered a truly beautiful lesson. Sometimes, in order to save your life, you have to make yourself seen, even when it’s scary, especially after you’ve been through so much.
None of us were made to stay in the shadows. And it’s okay to step into His light, for all the world to see.
Peace, love, and moxie,
~ Betty