I’m a scatterbrained, not-even-close-to-type-A mom of five, doing my best to keep up with a life that feels like an iPhone with way too many apps open. In addition to being “Mom,” I’m also a widow, wife, travel planner, travel lover, foundation leader, blogger, and chronic over-thinker. My life has been shaped by love, loss, adventure, and the wild twists that come with unexpected new beginnings.

I was married to my high school sweetheart, Mitch, for nearly 13 years before he was tragically killed in the line of duty as a firefighter in May 2019. At the time, our boys were just 4, 7, and 9. Life as a young widow and solo parent was a reality I never imagined—and one I had to figure out in real time.

Less than a year later, I met Dan—a fellow widower who had lost his wife in a car accident when his kids were just 1 and 3. What started as shared grief and late-night conversations turned into love, and in August 2022, we blended our two families into one big, beautiful, chaotic crew of seven.