It’s almost April and in the South, everything is beginning to bloom. It is gorgeous.

This time last year was the beginning of huge changes in my life. I thought that the pandemic, cancer, and divorce would be when I would write about huge life changes; however, the challenges I faced in the Spring of 2023 were unexpected, heartbreaking, and lifechanging.

It is a year ago when my father told me not to come home for Easter because he was sick with Covid and did not want to expose me. Long story somewhat short, I was able to see him while he was sick in the hospital. I snuck in three times (Covid unit) and third time would be the last that I would have the opportunity to see him alive.

My dad was my hero. I don’t say that lightly. My mom left when I was five, as she had her own struggles. Between my mom’s family, my dad, and a family of a dear friend, my childhood was magical even through the pain. Single dad life in the 70s was pretty rad- going to bars and drinking Shirley Temples while he picked up women, sitting on a cop car in West Memphis while dad had a beer in his hand, eating TV dinners and watching the Muppets with my favorite person.

I still have a lot to process with this loss…and that is only one loss from last year that changed my life forever, but those posts (yes- plural) are for later. Today reminds me of the opportunity to renew and embrace the hope that this crazy ass life brings each of us- and that is what I am choosing to do.

This blog was originally started to express ways people can make change in their lives to improve the lives of others. What can this look like if we start that process by looking at ourselves first? During this transition period in 2023, I went to the beach with my incredible aunt Sherida. While we were shopping in a sustainable store in Fernandina Beach, Florida, I ran across “The Pivot Year” by Brianna Wiest. I didn’t know why, but I knew I needed it in my life. Not until this moment did I realize that I had taken a screenshot of the quote below years before finding the book.

So today I start this blog again. For me. For my sanity. For my heart. For my healing. Welcome to my pivot year.