Starting Over Talk - Peer Coaching Support Site

Just finished watching Allison's graduation. I don't think I showed enough compassion, very heart warming clips of Allison in action.

I just loved it when TJ said something like "I want to strangle you . . . I want to hug you . . ." The woman accused of being verbose got right to the point in less than 10 words!

So often, at graduations, you realize how much we don't see!!
Posters here have often been surprised by what's said to, and about
some of the HGs...when they have not...seemed....to get along!
Can't remember who said it, but probably Iyanla...something like,"the one you butt heads with most will turn out to be your greatest gift."
I had seen this graduation before, but was "glistening" again!!
I think Allison's greatest gift to her house mates, aside from her warmth and kindness...was perspective. "When you have your health,you have everything." Not to downplay the emotional traumas of the other women at all...but I think Alli's story made them all see how much worse it could be...a "double load."
I'm glad I was able to hear her story in more depth...was not an everyday viewer at the start of this season.
So,Allison...the definition of courage is ...being afraid...and doing it anyway. And you did it, girl!!!

Cheers to today's episode - Allison's 2nd graduation!

My first time seeing it y'all - oh the tears...

I really want to see season 2 to find out just how far Miss Allison has come...

I LOVE Iyanla - she has a great gift of healing...

the house will not be the same with Allison gone....

I wish you could've seen Allison during Season 2. She was entirely different back them. Much more pleasant to be around. Considered herself just another HG. Had a rip roaring sense of humor. Joked about her prosthetic "boob" falling out during a phone call. That incident wasn't aired, But, in group, led by Dr Stan, she pulled her "boob" out and threw it at Bethany. Those ladies were throwing the thing all over the place. And, Dr Stan was blushing like a stop light. If you'd watched her back then, you'd see why she disappointed so many of us this season. With her "this is my house now and it's all about me" diva attitude. She came a long way Season 2. But she went backward this season. Left the last SOH far worse than she entered second one.

I did see Allison in Season 2....putting a brave face on everything, not really letting herself feel the full impact of her situation. More pleasant for the viewers, perhaps, but not so helpful to Allison!
I'm sure this was a much more meaningful stay for her. She's scared, sure...who would't be? But she has far more courage than she herself realizes! I'm rooting for her!

Maybe it wasn't so much "putting on a brave face" as not knowing she was genetically predisposed to getting cancer in her other breast, and, overies. And, she continued "putting on faces" during her second stay in the SOH. Remember the artist drawing the "face" she wore and the emotions behind it. I think the excessive cleaning was one of these "faces". And, the excessive spending was another.
Excessive drinking, too? I didn't notice Allison doing any drinking during her first stay. Alcohol wasn't much of an issue last season. The only one who made an "issue" of it was Denise, making fun of Cassie. Who hadn't had "drink" in years.
Much mention has been made of Allison's alcohol bloated face. Her face was puffy when she first arrived last season, IMO, from the chemotherapy she'd recently completed. Toward the end of last season, her face, especially in the confessional, seemed to have lost the puffiness. And, in the tape SO made of Allison six weeks after her first graduation, her face was even slimmer.
It was during this past season, as she began drinking more and more, that Allison's face began puffing up again. But, it appears that, between graduation and returning for the 5K, Allison hasn't been drinking excessively. With more productive ways to fill her days, school and trying to transfer her work, she probably no longer has the time, or occasion, to drink. Or, go "Boo Boo" hunting, Iyanla!: