I’m back: after death⚱️ divorce💔 and dragons🐉

🎧 👉 Prefer audio? You can also listen to me share about this in podcast season #2 episode #1 here.

I’m back.

It’s been a hell of a year and a half.

And I have A LOT to say.

Let me start by quoting a phrase that popped in my mind 3 days after one of the most significant events of my life that I’ll be sharing a bit about today….

Buckle up, buttercup!

So let me cut to the chase:

My Dad died.

I left my marriage and got a divorce.

And moved back to the Pacific Northwest where I have wonderful childhood memories.

And just a few months before these events transpired, I created my signature talk titled “Fearless Transitions: Slay Your Inner Dragons” – with absolutely NO clue what kind of transitions I’d be facing in my own life, especially how many of my own inner dragons. 

What this all means, if we zoom out, is that I’ve recently closed the book—not just a chapter—on the past 30 years of my life.

Nearly every key relationship, role, and identity I once held has come to a close. 

It’s been a deeply profound process of surrender, and through it, I’ve developed a whole new level of trust in life, in the Universe, and most importantly, in myself. 

I’m a big date person. Dates really mean a lot to me. And 2025 has held a lot of firsts with both my parents now gone… 

There was the first time I spoke in front of a room about my family’s story with the new ending of Dad passing just 14 days prior. (Yep, Dad gave me just 14 days to prepare myself before a speaking commitment.)

Then there was the first Mother’s Day without being able to talk to Dad about Mom.

The first Father’s Day without being able to call my Dad.

Then there was a week in July that was packed with emotional moments… 

July 16th was my parents’ wedding anniversary.
July 17th was 1 year after the first of three “fire drills” as I now call them–the times Dad was hospitalized during his final 6 months.
July 21st was the 31st anniversary of my family’s hot air balloon accident that paralyzed my father and ultimately led to both of my parents’ deaths–Mom’s 12 years ago due to alcoholism–and Dad’s 1 year ago due to the health challenges of being a quadriplegic in a wheelchair for 30 years.
And then July 22nd, would’ve been my Dad’s 81st birthday.

Since the accident happened the night before his 50th birthday, when anyone turns 50, I can’t help but feel a lot of feelings.

And this past September, I turned 50 myself.

As I’ve said a lot this year, the Universe has a f#cking wild sense of humor.

As I look back, it is NO surprise that my life flipped upside down in my 50th year.

And a quick side note here–I’ve kept myself from swearing in prior episodes, but in this new chapter that begins the next book of my life, I need to be my most authentic self which for me usually includes some swearing, so please get ready for some occasional F-bombs and use headphones if you’re listening around children.

I’ll be sharing more details of the wild ass stories, lessons, and insights of the past year and a half in future episodes.

Along with clips of me interviewing my Dad before he died.

And of course, I’ll share about my ongoing evolution as I navigate significant life transitions.

As I reflect back, I can tell you that there’s a whole lot of mess AND there’s a whole lot of magic. I have SO MUCH to say.

But I’m going to practice what I preach and take some pressure off myself. I don’t know exactly when or how often I’ll be releasing episodes. So the best thing to do is to subscribe to this podcast so that you’ll be notified when a new episode drops. 

Oh and in case you’re wondering, yes, I am still coaching and will have some availability for a few new clients in the new year. 

I have a few more “firsts” to finish up as this year closes – the first Christmas without my parents and the first anniversary of Dad’s passing, which I like to think of as his angel day. As if our family’s story wasn’t dramatic enough, BOTH of my parents chose to pass on holidays…Mom on Thanksgiving and Dad on New Year’s Eve. And yes, I will be celebrating him this New Year’s, dancing in a beautiful dress and gorgeous shoes—it will definitely be a Paul Santillie approved outfit. He loved to dance and was known for having fabulous taste in clothes.

So stay tuned for me to share more about my life transitions. I’ll fill you in on what I kept, what I transformed, and what I left behind. And on a closing note, I have decided to consider this time of my life as “Midlife Magic.” And I invite you to do the same.

🎧 👉 Prefer audio? You can also listen to me share about this in podcast season #2, episode #1 here.