Resilient Living #4: Grounded in the Chaos June 2026 It’s been a few months since I wrote about taking myself back—about slowing down, breathing, and creating space to come home to myself again. And life didn’t exactly respond by calming down. If anything… it ramped up. We’re in full busy season—running four marinas, a restaurant,Continue reading “Resilient Living #4: Grounded in the Chaos”
Author Archives: Grief To Grace
Choosing Myself Again (Even in the Middle of the Storm)
Resilient Living #3 February 26, 2026 It’s been a little over a month since my last blog—the one where I talked about Alex, signs, angels, grief, gratitude, and somehow surviving another earth-shifting loss with Mike. I ended that post feeling steady, present, grounded… or as grounded as someone can be when life is still swinging.Continue reading “Choosing Myself Again (Even in the Middle of the Storm)”
Resilient Living: When Life Kicks You Down Again (and Again)
Resilient Living #2 – January 22, 2026 I wrote my last post on November 30, 2025. I was proud of it. I felt strong. Peaceful, even. I talked about protecting my energy, setting boundaries, breathing through the heavy rooms. I hit publish and went to bed feeling like I’d finally found my footing after almostContinue reading “Resilient Living: When Life Kicks You Down Again (and Again)”
Resilient Living: Protecting My Peace in a World of Heavy Energy
Resilient Living #1 – Present Day Five years in, this is the biggest lesson I live by: I protect my peace like it’s sacred, because it is. I’ve always been an empath. I walk into a room and feel everything: joy, grief, anger, chaos. After Alex left, that gift turned into a curse. Every hugContinue reading “Resilient Living: Protecting My Peace in a World of Heavy Energy”
Work Life Wisdom: From Spiral to Leading with Heart
Work Life Wisdom #2 Two weeks after Alex was cremated, I opened my laptop at the kitchen table. Full time. I work from home, drive to our three marinas in South Carolina, and make the 3.5-hour haul to our big Tennessee lakefront—a marina, busy restaurant, and campground spread across one massive tract. Six companies don’tContinue reading “Work Life Wisdom: From Spiral to Leading with Heart”
Spiritual Journey: My Messy, Beautiful Road to Knowing We Don’t End
Spiritual Journey #1 Alex proved to me quickly he could still reach me. But my spiritual journey didn’t start there. It started way before, in the sticky Texas heat of my childhood, sneaking sticky-glazed donuts off the church bus and losing myself in the colorful chaos of my grandma and pawpaw’s Illustrated Children’s Bible. IContinue reading “Spiritual Journey: My Messy, Beautiful Road to Knowing We Don’t End”
Early Days of Grief: The Mistakes I Made (and the Signs I Missed)
Early Days of Grief #2 The Elvis miracle on January 6, 2021 proved Alex could reach me. But the first days, weeks, months? Pure fight-or-flight chaos. Signs were everywhere—I just didn’t recognize them until later. Lots of them. The Raw Truth Alex passed in the middle of the night on October 6, 2020. I foundContinue reading “Early Days of Grief: The Mistakes I Made (and the Signs I Missed)”
Signs from Alex: The Rainbows I Begged For (and the Jeep That Whispered “Yes”)
Signs & Connections #2 The Elvis miracle on January 6, 2021—poster, beer, song, movie—shouted Alex was near. But the first weeks? That’s when my broken heart learned to ask… and his love answered in whispers that still bring me to my knees. If you’re grieving, please—open your mind and heart. Ask for a sign. YourContinue reading “Signs from Alex: The Rainbows I Begged For (and the Jeep That Whispered “Yes”)”
Leading with Empathy: How Grief Taught Me to See the Whole Person
Work Life Wisdom #1 Five years after Alex left us, I’m still COO of six companies, Mimi to two wild grandsons, and the one who feeds nine chickens in the evenings. Three years sober. Two years off Klonopin. I sleep most nights now. But grief doesn’t clock out. It shows up in my car betweenContinue reading “Leading with Empathy: How Grief Taught Me to See the Whole Person”
Leading with Purpose Through Grief and Recovery
Introduction: A Life of Hustle and Heartache Before my son, Alex, passed at 23, my life was a whirlwind of work and family. As COO, I poured my heart into running six companies—four freshwater marinas in Tennessee and South Carolina, a Tennessee restaurant, and a campground with Airbnb and VRBO rentals. My husband and IContinue reading “Leading with Purpose Through Grief and Recovery”