September 17
Risk and Reward Go Hand in Hand
I love a reward, but risk-taker is not on my résumé
Prompt — What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? What gave you the courage to take that risk?
I do not consider myself to be a risk-taker. I had to think long and hard about my response. My risk assessment usually consists of answering the following question — what is the worst thing that could happen if I take the risk and fail? If I can live with the answer, the risk is downgraded, and the activity becomes an item on my to-do list.
On April 7, 1993, I got on a plane and flew from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Sacramento, California. I rented a car and drove 70 miles to Oroville, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills and known as the gateway to Lake Oroville and the Feather River.
My mission was to meet with the young woman who had agreed to let us adopt her unborn son, who was due any day. The arrangements for my trip had been very last minute. I was to go to the house of the birth father’s family for the meetup.
By the time I reached Oroville, it had been a very long day, and I was beyond exhausted. I drove by the house and could not stop. I went to a pay phone and called my husband, telling him I couldn’t do it. That did not go over well. After a few…
