In her new book, Remember Who You Are, my friend Paula Stafford shares a time when she wrestled with false guilt. Seizing an important business opportunity on the other side of the country meant being away on her husband’s birthday. She and her husband agreed she should go for it. Before she left, rumblings about a hurricane made the news. But the forecasters said it would probably land in South Carolina instead of her home area.

The hurricane was Fran. Its category three winds and rain ravaged our area. Fallen trees downed power lines and blocked access to grocery stores. Paula’s husband and one-year-old child were among the throngs left without electricity.

Paula watched the devastation on the news. She couldn’t contact her husband or get a flight into Raleigh. Remembering she hadn’t stocked the kitchen before she left added one more layer of guilt to her churning emotions. What kind of woman leaves her husband on his birthday with their small child and doesn’t even stock the pantry when a hurricane is coming?Continue Reading