Rodeo Drive's Rough Side

My mantra has always been that you must take care of your soul and mind. It was the reason that I put a hold on my career to raise my kids full time, and it explains why I’m always surrounded by family and friends. It’s also a message that appears throughout my book: Always find balance between your family and your work.

With that said, I realize that it’s difficult advice to follow. And I’m the first to admit that I’m not always successful. Rodeo taught me a tough lesson nearly two weeks ago.

Nikki, my daughter, wanted me to help her shop for a child’s gift. Despite having two kids of her own, she still knows who to ask when she needs shopping advice.

She phoned me late one afternoon. “Mom, the store closes at 6:00. Do you think you can still come?”

It was almost 5:30 at the time, and my toes were wet from my pedicure, but I thought that I could make it. I rushed to Rodeo Drive in my sandals trying my best to keep the polish from smearing. It was a struggle to maintain my balance because the bottoms of my feet were slick from the lotion my pedicurist applied.

Unfortunately, my attempts at juggling wet nail polish and slippery feet in sandals were unsuccessful. No sooner than you can say “North Beverly Drive,” my cheek was planted on the ground. I was injured and embarrassed to have fallen in front of so many people. My one consolation was to see the Chanel storefront above me—I couldn’t imagine a more fabulous place to fall.

An Italian couple came to my side and asked if I was OK. It took a moment to respond because the wind was knocked out of me. The kind pair helped me up, and by the time I had collected myself, I had missed my date with my daughter.

The pain was intense but life had to resume: Two deals were in escrow, I landed a $13.5 million listing in Brentwood, our office Halloween party needed to be planned, and my family commitments continued.

As a result, I postponed seeing the doctor. My daughter, Nikki, who’s a doctor herself, insisted that I see one. I finally did this week, and the X-Rays revealed why I was in so much pain. The fall on Rodeo Drive resulted in a hairline fracture in my wrist and a torn muscle in my rotator cuff.

I’m not proud of waiting so long to see a doctor. It was a good lesson that reminded that keeping all the balls in the air isn’t easy. Once in awhile one will plummet to the ground. And when it does, all we can hope is that it will land in front of Chanel.

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