Home Court Advantage

The bike was small. The dreams were big. And the road ahead was just beginning.

Your future self will thank you for the healthy choices you make today.

Give yourself the Home Court Advantage

Cutting Your Teeth

I smiled when I saw these little keepsake jars labeled Baby Teeth.

It made me think about the phrase, "cutting your teeth."

Most of us who start nonprofits or small businesses don't begin with a business plan.

We begin with people.

We begin by helping one family... solving one problem... listening to one story at a time.

Those experiences become our education.

We cut our teeth on compassion.
On relationships.
On showing up when it mattered.

But then something changes.

The vision grows bigger than what we already know.

Suddenly, you're making decisions that affect employees, budgets, partnerships, facilities, strategic plans, and futures.

The questions become heavier.

The risks become greater.

The responsibility becomes real.

No one really prepares you for the weight of carrying not only your own hopes and dreams, but also the hopes of your employees, volunteers, donors, community partners, and the families who believe in what you're building.

You realize you've never really had to chew on decisions like these before.

You don't have all the answers.

You never will.

But the mission still deserves to move forward.

So...you put on your big girl pants.

Not because you're fearless.

But because leadership isn't about having every answer. It's about accepting the responsibility to make the best decision you can with the information you have...and having the courage to keep moving forward.

Every new challenge stretches us.

Every hard decision teaches us.

Maybe that's what cutting your teeth is really about.

We don't stop growing just because the organization grows.

We spend years learning how to serve.

Then one day we realize we're being called to lead.

Those are different lessons.

Different muscles.

Different responsibilities.

Helping people taught me my purpose.

Leadership is teaching me my courage.

The mission hasn't changed.

The responsibility has.

And for that...I'm grateful.

Because every hard decision...
every uncomfortable conversation...
every leap of faith...
every lesson I didn't know I needed...
has been preparing me for what's next.

It's not just about growing the mission.

It's about growing into the leader the next season requires.

And maybe that's what cutting your teeth is really all about.

Socks.
Blue Willow Restaurant

Feet.
Gadabout Salon.

Know that help is right where you need it - right now.

Elder care.
Don’t wait for some place to be ‘medical’
Be proactive
Care
Nourish now.

We’ve got you!

With DICK'S Sporting Goods – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

2006. John P. Bell Foundation sponsorship for Tu Nidito.
This conference STILL has a profound effect on me. The pre-planning and focus groups, the speakers were absolutely amazing and experts in their own fields/dedicated writing + work; it was the teen panel ~ young people ~ who had been given a terminal disease diagnosis that taught us so much. . . the one teen who said to her parents, "Wait! Let me look at my bedroom one more time" as they were wheeling her to the car to go back to the hospital ... and, she knew she was not coming home ever again. . .
Our culture prepares for the new baby coming home; perhaps we can prepare and ready ourselves better for the winter stage of life. More education on all the "Seasons of Hope".

Legacy.

I saw an ad for DICK'S Sporting Goods and immediately texted it to my nephew. From the time his son was just two years old, he began taking him to the golf course — not necessarily to create a golfer, but simply to spend time together.

To linger.
To laugh.
To just “be.”

Sure enough, that little boy followed in his father’s footsteps and now embraces the game himself, even competing as a middle schooler.

And it reminded me of something important:

Legacy is rarely built in one giant moment.

It’s built in small, repeated acts of presence.

This past two weeks, much of my work in case management has involved helping families wrap their minds and arms around impending death — sitting beside people realizing there may be no more time, no extra season, no “someday.”

The range of age groups I work with continues to remind me:
time truly is fleeting.

The conversations.
The traditions.
The drives to sports, music or math practice sessions.
The meals.
The stories.
The simple decision to show up.

All of it matters more than we realize.

What’s your legacy?

Coming! Thursday April 23!!
LOVE Brookdale Senior Living