About Me

My Journey

I grew up in the country, raised as a boy in a girl’s body, spending countless hours riding horses, motorbikes, and anything else that moved at full speed. I built forts in the woods. And played softball and basketball in organized sports from age five until high school. Nature and my younger sister were my best friends. The dirt road past our house stretched eight miles, marked by creeks, rivers, and trees. Most of our time was spent outside. Our childhood was filled with adventures, including farm chores and working in the garden. We learned hard lessons of life in the country. Animals died without warning, and nature took its course whether we were ready or not. Other times death was a choice, like our father taking off a chicken's head so we'd have a meal. All of it taught us resilience.

At age 15, I met my future husband and married him at 18.  Our first child came about a year later.  Our religious models laid out exactly who I was to be, a wife and mother. For 25 years I enjoyed caring for and nurturing my family to the best of my abilities. Yet something begged my attention beyond this role. Call it empty-nest syndrome, call it a mid-life crisis, call it whatever sounds right to you; what the next stage of life showed me was that I had never questioned what I was.  I’d never asked who I was and what I was doing with the totality of my life. These questions began my midlife journey. My midpoint to begin again. 

In a moment of synchronicity, I was introduced to the work of Carl Jung. For the next eight and half years, I immersed myself in Jungian concepts and psychology. Through this journey, I discovered much more of who I truly am and what my values are. They no longer stem from what others believe I should be or how I should act. And so this journey continues.