Gratitude for the Season That Changed Everything

This year I’m grateful for the shift from uncertainty to alignment and for the chance to be fully present in my life again.

Thankful.

Last Thanksgiving, I was in a very different season.

I could feel the ground shifting under my feet at work. Meetings started disappearing from my calendar. Responsibilities I had carried for years were quietly being redistributed. The space where I used to have influence was shrinking more each week. And even though no one had said it out loud yet, I knew my time there was coming to an end.

It was a strange in-between. I was still showing up, still pouring into my team, still trying to make someone else’s day brighter, even when mine felt increasingly uncertain. I was walking carefully, trying to avoid missteps, yet somehow tripping anyway. Looking back now, I can see how much of myself I was trying to hold together.

Fast forward to today, and the landscape of my life looks nothing like it did then.

Today, I’m building a business that feels aligned with who I am and what I’m here to do. I’m taking big swings. I’m using my voice in ways I couldn’t last year. And I’m being appreciated for the work that comes naturally to me, the work that feels like purpose.

I’m having real conversations with leaders who want to show up better, stronger, and more themselves. I get to sit front row to their breakthroughs, their courage, and their commitment to leading with heart.

And I get to be present in my own life again.

There’s time for the weekly call with my original board of directors, my mom and dad, where we talk through ideas, challenges, wins, and of course, the kids. There’s the moment I got to watch my son open the college acceptance letter he didn’t think he’d receive. There’s every drive with my daughter as she prepares to get her license and grows into her own confidence.

I’m here for it. Fully. Not half-distracted. Not running on fumes. Not emotionally split in twelve different directions.

And a huge part of that is because of the people who have stood with me this year. My husband has been a calm, steady force, believing in me even on the days I wasn’t sure what was next. Friends and clients have cheered me on, trusted me, and reminded me that rebuilding isn’t just possible, it can be beautiful.

You never really know how things might have unfolded if life had stayed the same. But what I do know is this: I would have missed some of these moments. I might have been physically present, but mentally miles away.

So this Thanksgiving, I’m raising a glass to a season where presence is king. Where joy is contagious. Where appreciation isn’t something we whisper, but something we live out loud through how we show up and how we brighten the rooms we enter.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me. It’s been quite a ride already, and something tells me the best chapters are still ahead.