How Did I End Up Here?

I never planned to start over at 66. But life had other plans—and they turned out to be mine.

How does a woman who spent 17 years married to a Christian minister…
then ran off to New York City to marry a concert pianist for a decade…
and later returned home to marry another Christian minister…
end up here, of all places?

And honestly — why should anyone listen to her?

Those are questions I ask myself often, especially while creating this Substack for women who find themselves standing at the edge of midlife, wondering what comes next.

Because I know that feeling — the ache of lost dreams, the quiet panic of not knowing what’s left.
And I also know what it feels like when life forces you to remember who you are.

A few years ago, everything fell apart.
I lost my investment in our family home.
I got sick — three brutal months of COVID — and when I finally came up for air, there was nothing left in the bank. At 66 years old, I found myself facing a question I never expected to ask again:

“What the hell? I have to work hard again?”

So yes, I threw myself a good old-fashioned pity party.
But the rent didn’t care.
And pity doesn’t pay the bills.

That’s when something inside me shifted.

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The rest of the story — the rebirth, the art, the wild rediscovery of self — began right there.

And now, here I am, hoping to touch the lives of other women who’ve lost sight of themselves or their dreams — or who are just beginning to sense there’s more of them still waiting to be found.

What a delicious time we women over 60 are living in. Unlike the generations before us, we have the freedom to explore, to experiment, to reinvent and revive our lives — not out of necessity, but out of desire.

We are the first generation of women who get to become ourselves on purpose.

And that’s what this space is about: finding your way back to the dreams you buried under duty, loss, or survival.

Because they’re still alive.
And so are you.

You’ve done the hard parts already — built the life, made the money, carried everyone and everything.
Now you’re standing in the quiet after success, wondering what’s left to discover.

I’ve been there. I rebuilt everything — from the ground up — and the exact steps, turns, and practices that brought me to the life I live now are inside REFOUNDATION.
It’s not about starting over. It’s about coming home to yourself and the dreams you’ve been saving for “someday.”

REFOUNDATION

Before I wrap this up, I want to share something a little more personal.
I recorded an eight-minute video that tells the story behind this question — the four times in my life I’ve had to completely reinvent myself. Each one stripped me down and rebuilt me in ways I never saw coming.

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re here now, or if you’re standing at your own crossroad, I think you’ll feel something in this.

We don’t retire, we rewire™.

If what I write makes you feel seen, heard, or even a little braver — consider becoming a paid subscriber.
You’re not just supporting my work; you’re fueling a movement of women who refuse to fade quietly into the background.