One week ago today, on Sunday, May 13, Mother’s Day, I loaded my suitcase and briefcase into my car and set out on the 8 Hour drive to Wilmington, Delaware to present my Tedx talk.
I nervously practiced the talk while I was driving, imagining the audience, the cameras, the lights, trying to feel at ease with the whole process.
I’m not afraid of or unaccustomed to speaking in public, I’m not even uncomfortable about being filmed, so why am I so nervous?
Will I be able to finish on time? Well I remember the sequence of points I wanted to make? Will the visual aids I brought tell the story I hope to tell? Is this really a new idea? Will the audience be attentive and “with me”? Will they learn something? Will the idea spread?
When I got to Wilmington, everyone was warm and friendly and supportive! In the rehearsal they gave each of us a few notes to make the presentation more polished.
We had a speaker’s dinner the night before taping, and then, finally it was the day of the event! I was the first speaker after lunch, and far too nervous to eat, I went up to my room to be by myself for a few minutes. I thought I would have a little lunch and run the talk one more time. But what I did instead was take a few minutes to think about my message.
How important it is to me to get the word out about childhood lead poisoning. Far too many children are poisoned every year, and I believe the only thing that will make a difference is greater awareness. Suddenly I didn’t matter anymore, I was just vehicle for getting the message out to a greater group of people.
I realized, I have nothing to be nervous about. I know this material – and if I forget the exact words I will still make the point – I do it every day in my work.
Now it was all about the message and I found myself grateful for the opportunity to share this information with a larger group of people.
I am excited for the talk to become available, and whether it’s perfect or not it will spread the word and more people will get their children tested, and some children who might have been poisoned, now will be saved from this terrible disease. I just want to add one more voice of thanks to my coaches Geoffrey Berwind and Laura Harrison, and to Kelsey, Ajit, Evan and the entire TedX Wilmington Tribe for all the goodness they share and the hard work they do.
Kate Kirkwood is a mother of four and lives in New Hampshire. She holds several national and state lead certifications and has formed an educational company called Lead-EDU through which she offers training for contractors, landlords, do-it-yourselfers and parents. Kate has authored a children’s’ book, Skylar Learns About Lead Poisoning and is currently working on a series of books to be released later this year called “lead paint clear and simple”.
Mom and Skylar Learn about lead poisoning by playing a guessing game, which is sometimes funny, and sometimes scary!
Skylar can be either a boy or girl, and age is vague.
This is a read-to-me book for caregivers and children of all ages that is packed with information which will certainly lead to a discussion of lead hazards that might be hiding in your home or school.
Lead Paint from old homes, toys, imports, antiques, water, dust and soil can make people very sick. Young children who are exposed can have permanent brain damage, reduced IQ, learning disabilities, ADHD and a host of other ailments.
For parents and caregivers, this is an opportunity to review or learn the basics: How do we get lead poisoned? What can we do about it? What are the 5 steps we can take to avoid poisoning ourselves and the children in our lives.
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This includes both individual certification and firm certification, ensuring compliance with EPA and state regulations. Without certification, you could face fines of up to $41,056 per violation, along with the risks of exposing clients, workers, and residents to lead hazards.
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