Where I'm from...

I guess the most important piece for you to know are the past 5 years have been hard! This part of my journey started when mom and dad took a cruise to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. It didn’t turn out like we expected. Mom had a stroke on that cruise. It’s simple to say that now, but at the time there was confusion and weeks we weren’t sure of the outcome or diagnosis.

I worked full time, had a senior in high school and a middle schooler. I spent my early hours of each day working and getting my paid job work done. Then visiting mom and helping dad understand how to run the house, planning a meal and sorting through insurance papers.

A month later, my husband had a heart attack. He assured me he was fine, drove himself to the hospital and when I awoke the next morning, he still wasn’t home. I searched for his location by phone app and tracked him down. Heart enzymes were still rising. A rapid ambulance trip to a larger city hospital and surgery in the morning. Thankfully, 48 hours later he was fine and back to everyday life.

We had a good next year, Mom got better. Dad got better. Things weren’t as hard as those first few months, but I was still fixing meals for mom and dad, helping with insurance paperwork, finances, shopping, and keep tracking of all the things mom would have been doing in addition to managing my own house and family.

The next year, it became clear that it was time for Mom and Dad to move into a less stressful environment. December 1, 2019 they moved into a lovely assisted living facility. I was taking on more responsibility for the details they could no longer manage. And then you know what happened just a few months later: COVID lockdown. I still have the video (I accidentally hit video instead of photo) while explaining to them that this would only take 2 weeks, then I could get back inside their apartment and continue to help with all the details.

You know how that worked out. Mom and Dad inside and me on the outside still trying to manage the insurance, the finances, the errands, the shopping (necessities other than food), medicines, keeping an eye on the empty house, never feeling like I was able to do what needed to be done and never feeling they were completely taken care of. Then there were worries about my family, another stressful year of college (this time from home), high school from home, and work from home transitions. Somewhere in here there were also 2 job transitions for me.

Then Dad’s cancer diagnosis. More responsibility given to me and happily absorbed into my life to help where I could. Many days outside the window talking through the window or over the phone when it was cold. Taking blankets and a chair so I could wrap up and stay longer to help the desperate boredom of not being allowed out of their room. Trips with dad to the Dr. and hospital for tests. Chemo treatments.

We cleaned out and quickly sold my childhood home, just a week before we lost dad. The last thing Dad was able to do was to sign the sale papers. After another very hard year without him, Mom slipped away 11 months later.

There hasn’t been something as significant, wonderful, hard, full of blessings, joyful, meaningful, or impactful as these past few years. I’m so blessed to have been able to be there for my dad and my mom. It’s one of my greatest joys, right next to raising my amazing children and being married to my wonderful husband!

But staring forward into 2022, I wanted, no needed, to do something big – to help fill the void of so many hours left open and a heart that hurt and a longing to make a difference in such a personal and meaningful way again. I decided to look into Executive Coaching.

And I could not be happier! Coaching is a great fit for my head and my heart. There are so many things I love about it! I really love helping people and feel great joy when someone I know makes progress! My life has been a journey and I know mine isn’t the hardest one.

That’s how I got here. This is who I am: enthusiastic, positive, and unashamedly supportive of all, I hope to make a difference every day, even in small ways. I love learning new things, connecting with people and always want to be moving forward.

Married to my best friend, Raphael, we have 2 awesome nearly grown children, two spoiled doggos and live in central Indiana. I would love to hear part of your story too.