I like to …
Ask – questions Discuss – almost anything Eat – food that helps, not hurts me Read – anything, especially memoirs Run, bike or kayak – alone or with others Search – to understand God, others and myself Share hope – through living, writing and speaking
An ideal day for me includes reading, writing and an outdoor workout followed by healthy food, dark chocolate, dinner with my family and/or red wine with friends.
I am married to Jerry and we have three boys, ages 17, 20 and 22, so the conversations at our house often revolve around college, jobs and girls.
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In some ways, my story is usual — in other ways it is not. I was living a dream when I received horrific injuries in an accident. Against all odds, I survived. It’s the type of article or story (think Guidepost or Reader’s Digest) that’s always motivated me when I read them about someone else. But, gosh darn it! I never wanted to live a story like that.
In the nineties, my husband and I started Meadow Gardens, a large garden center in our hometown in Pennsylvania. We enjoyed the community connection from operating a retail business, but not the stress of managing a seasonal business.
After a decade of too many late nights, we sold our business, house and property. And began living a dream — traveling across the country for a year in a motorhome with our three boys. Six months into that sweet adventure, an accident in California ended the trip … and life as I knew it.
Two weeks post-accident, injured from hips to toes.
Not only did I experience physical trauma that almost killed me, the emotional trauma that followed caused me to entertain thoughts about killing myself, while the spiritual trauma caused me to question everything I thought I knew about God. How do I learn to live with the new me? (suddenly that mosquito bite scar from childhood didn’t look so bad)
With time, I learned (am still learning) to live in the tension of celebrating the miracles while being honest about my disappointments. Slowly I went from hopeless to hopeful.
Telling a story, in person or in a book, about almost dying wasn’t in my plans … but stuff happens. I now share my story, the good, bad and ugly, through speaking and writing.
