Healing Changed Everything
There was a time not that long ago when I honestly didn’t know how I was going to make it through each day.
I was emotionally exhausted, mentally drained, trying to hold everything together while silently falling apart behind the scenes. I was stuck in survival mode — just trying to make it through the next moment, the next bill, the next hard conversation, the next breakdown. I carried so much weight on my shoulders for so long that I forgot what peace even felt like.
And if I’m being honest, there were moments where I truly lost pieces of myself.
But healing has a strange way of happening.
Not all at once.
Not in some magical movie moment.
Not overnight.
Healing came quietly for me.
It came through creating.
Through sewing late at night.
Through learning how to laugh again.
Through finding comfort in music and words and little moments of peace.
Through realizing I deserved softness too.
It came through building Earthly Enchantments and Rising Phoenix Studio — not just as creative spaces, but as pieces of myself that I was slowly bringing back to life.
And now here I am… sitting in a home that finally feels safe and peaceful. Watching Hunter thrive in ways I prayed for during some of our darkest days. Seeing him smile more, make it to school every day, and even join soccer has healed parts of my heart I can’t even explain.
Some days I look around and almost can’t believe this is my life now.
I was recently promoted to Housekeeping Manager at the Exeter Inn — something I never imagined for myself a few years ago when I was simply trying to survive emotionally and financially. And the best part? I’m leading with compassion. With understanding. With the kind of leadership I always wished existed for me.
And somehow in the middle of all this healing… I’m about to become a Gigi.
Life feels different now.
Not perfect.
Not easy.
But hopeful.
For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I’m not just surviving anymore. I’m rebuilding. I’m growing. I’m creating. I’m healing.
And maybe that’s the beautiful thing about starting over — eventually one day you wake up and realize your life no longer feels like something you’re trying to escape from.
It finally starts feeling like home.
