Growing up, my favorite phrase was "I've been thinking". My parents braced themselves every time I said it because it was usually an out of the box idea that landed somewhere outside of the straight and narrow and would cost them money. They weren't totally wrong!
I have always been a dreamer. I approach life as an adventure. Along the way, I've realized two things:
➳ With the right set of life skills, you can accomplish and experience BIG things.
➳These "go to" life skills are what have allowed me to ride the rollercoaster of life with confidence, courage and passion.
My adventure began at the age of 5, when I entered the world of competitive swimming. Life was full of traveling to fun, new places most weekends for meets, years of twice-a-day workouts with school squished in the middle, sports injuries, summer days at the pool with friends and family, great victories, really tough losses, lifelong friendships and constantly smelling like chlorine.
I loved EVERY beautiful, grueling, exhilirating moment of it. I learned so much about teamwork, grit, goal-setting, perseverance, friendship and resiliency in those early years.
I went to Michigan State University to pursue International Business and Spanish. I knew I wanted to travel and make money! 😂
For the first time, I was on my own. My parents told me I had one semester to "figure it out" and prove I was responsible enough to be there. "HELLO, Tough Love. Nice to meet you!"
But it worked. Through a lot of trial and error, I honed my time management, self-discipline, organization and people skills. Because of that, I was able to make friends with amazing people from around the world, structure my days to stay on top of work and connect in ways that made a campus of 40,000+ feel like home.
When the opportunity to study in Spain popped up, I was all in. I knew living in another country would not be easy, but I had confidence that the life skills I had developed (adaptability, resourcefulness, perseverance and resiliency) would prepare me to tackle anything that came my way...and they did. Language barriers, cultural differences, trying to access emergency services when a big hunk of glass was stuck in my foot and navigating the train system paled in comparison to the memories I made and the personal growth I experienced. LIFE CHANGING!
I returned from Spain and began traveling the country working for a Business Consulting firm. It paid well. I worked with an incredible group of people. And, I got to travel. On paper, it was a dream job. But after lots of self-reflection, I realized corporate life wasn't for me.
So, I switched gears to focus on my passion...working with kids.
Friends and family thought I was crazy to turn away from comfort and stability, but I forged ahead with confidence in my ability to turn my passion into a career.
So, I packed myself up and moved to Boston to pursue my Master's degree at Harvard University. Within 4 months of moving there, 9/11 happened, I lost my grandpa unexpectedly and I was hit by a car as I was walking across an intersection! 😳 "Hello? Life skills? I'm going to need a little help here!"
With some perseverance, resiliency and a bit of stubbornness, I was able to get back on track and fully immerse myself in the program and fun, new city I was living in.
I loved what I was learning so much that when I completed my degree at Harvard, I scooted over to the University of Michigan and received my Master's degree in Clinical Social Work.
My parents were thrilled, but also wanted to make sure I knew "Professional Student" wasn't a real career path!
So armed with a whole lot of knowledge, excitement and student loans I moved to Philadelphia to start my work with children.
So, for the past 2 decades (yikes!) I have had the privilege to work with children and families around the world in psychiatric hospitals, residential facilities, homes, schools, churches, even on Zoom...thank you COVID. I can't even begin to express what an honor and a joy it is to help children and families overcome obstacles, build confidence and create BIG dreams for their future.
Somewhere along the way love took the wheel, leading me to Florida, marriage, and the incredible joy of becoming a momma to our sweet baby girl, Faith. Life felt magical.
Then, life came to a halt. We lost our son, Nev, in a late stage miscarriage. As we sat in the hospital room, holding him for the first and only time this side of Heaven, I was overwhelmed by the depth of grief I experienced. Clinging to my faith, and knowing my other Faith needed her momma I worked through this grief to find purpose in the pain and figure out how to weave this overwhelming loss into the beautiful story I knew God had created for our family. And I did. And now that I am on the other side, I can say without hesitation, I am so grateful that Nev is a part of our story.
And then...along came Jack. The joy and gratitude were immense. He was such a beautiful addition to our family.
Ahhh....I thank God every day that I get to be a part of this incredible crew. ❤️
From the beginning, our goal wasn't to raise the best athletes, or the smartest students, or the "coolest" kids. Our focus was on raising two kiddos that loved their Lord and shared this love with others. Children that were confident, joyful, kind, empathetic, adventurous, resourceful and critical thinkers. And so, that's what we nurtured within them.
We chose to homeschool. Many people thought we were crazy and tried to poke holes in our plan. But we stood firm and committed to our plan, knowing this was best for our family. God blessed this path immensely and it was amazing to watch them develop emotionally, academically, socially, physically and spiritually.
As Faith was entering 7th grade and Jack, 4th grade, an opportunity arose for us to move to Wisconsin where we were surrounded by schools that supported the foundation we had created for them. So, with tears in our eyes and excitement in our hearts, we packed our flip-flops and headed North.
While we were sad to close this beautiful homeschooling chapter of our story, we were excited for the opportunities this new chapter would entail. It was awesome to watch them spread their wings as they made new friends, adjusted to a new school environment, joined new teams and tried new things with confidence.
Embracing each day for whatever it brings. Finding new challenges to take on. Working through adversity. Managing the BIG emotions. Learning ways to get better each day. Living life to the fullest. Learning from the "less than perfect" moments.
And doing it all with confidence, knowing our trusty toolbox of skills will be by our side supporting us every step of the way!
I'm so excited to get to know you better! What lights up your family's life? What big dreams are you chasing? What hurdles are you hopping over? What bits of life are weighing you down? And what’s your go-to for a good time?
Parenting is a team sport, and we're in this together. Let's swap stories, share struggles, learn from each other and shoulder each other's burdens. Together, we can empower our families with the skills to tackle whatever life throws our way!
And by the way...if you've gotten to the end of this...you totally deserve a medal for perseverance! 🙌
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