Mary Hodder always knew who her dream dinner guest would be.
She’d dreamt about it, envisioned it. But even as she found herself in the middle of her dream come true – a private dinner with Oprah Winfrey – Hodder still couldn’t quite grasp it was actually happening.
“This is a really weird thing about me, but I’d imagined that conversation hundreds of times,” Hodder says.
“I’d be driving in my car and think about what I would say to Oprah Winfrey if I’d met her. And then suddenly there she is and I’m like, ‘I have no idea what I’m going to say.’”
That dinner happened two years ago in Australia. It was December 2010 and Hodder was one of 300 fans flown out to spend 10 days in Australia with Oprah Winfrey as she taped several shows as part of her 25th – and final – season on television.
On Thursday, the 51-year-old Vancouverite will get another chance to see her hero at the sold-out Rogers Arena show where Oprah will be speaking.
LIFE-CHANGING TRIP
For Hodder, Australia represented not just a dream come true, but the beginning of a life changing course.
At the time, she was in a difficult place in her life.
She was living in Phoenix, Ariz., and her marriage had just fallen apart. Her children were now grown and she faced the prospect of starting life over on her own.
It was daunting.
Hodder needed something, anything, to jolt her into the next phase of her life and Oprah turned out to be just what she needed.
Something Oprah said at the beginning of the trip gave Hodder pause.
She’s now written it in her journal: “Don’t let this be the biggest thing that happens in your life.”
“She said take this experience and live that bigger dream. Always dream bigger for yourself,” says Hodder.
“You have this tendency to think, I’m with Oprah Winfrey in Australia. This is huge, what could be better than this? I’ve done the ultimate thing.
“So she was encouraging us to take that dream and build bigger dreams.”
Hodder went home and did exactly that.
RETURN TO VANCOUVER
After a whirlwind tour of Australia that included a private tour of the outback with 13 other women and Oprah, sunset cocktails and then the aforementioned dinner with the same small group, Hodder returned to Phoenix ready to take control of her life.
Originally from Newfoundland, she dreamed of coming back to Vancouver, where she had lived for a while.
Instead of waiting for something to propel her back, Hodder decided she would just do it.
She started looking for jobs and was stunned to discover her dream job as the registrar for Vancouver Community College was now available.
She applied and got the job within three weeks.
Within six weeks, she was driving with her daughter across the border back to B.C.
She’s now in a new relationship and working on a book – another dream that had lay dormant for years.
‘BOLDLY GOING INTO A NEW LIFE’
After years of hesitation, the “life changer” in Australia was the decision to go for the things she wanted.
“I drove from Arizona with my daughter and it was like we’re going on this adventure. It hasn’t all been perfect,” she adds pragmatically.
“There’s ups and downs, but I absolutely feel this was the best thing that happened to me.
“Boldly going into a new life on my own, taking that risk to come here and just say I’m going to start over. I was stuck and you don’t change things by doing the same things.
Being in Australia also gave her a whole new friendship group. Staff at the Oprah Winfrey Show had put the 300 fans into smaller groups to make travelling easier.
Hodder and her sister were put in a group of 14 women from all different walks of life. They shared an instant bond and now keep in touch by travelling annually to meet each other.
Oprah’s ability to inspire people to own their lives- especially women – explains her mass celebrity appeal, says Hodder.
“As a mother, I want to be the embodiment of even if your life is not where it should be, you can change the direction,” says Hodder.
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