Meet the Creator of Rooted & Radiant

I didn’t set out to create something like Rooted & Radiant.

I just lived a lot of life.

I grew up watching my mom hold everything together for the four of us.

She had a way of making you believe you could do anything—whether you felt ready or not.

She used to say, “You can do anything you want… if you want to do it badly enough.”

And somehow… I believed her.

Life didn’t stay in one place very long.

I moved - a lot.

At least 25 times.

From Florida to California, Colorado to Hawaii… and a lot in between.

And every move taught me something.

How to start over.

How to figure things out.

How to keep going, even when it wasn’t easy.

I left Florida at one point just because I felt like I needed to.

I could feel the grass growing under my feet… and I knew if I didn’t go, I might stay forever.

So I went to California.

I didn’t have it all figured out—

but I figured it out as I went.

And honestly, that became a pattern in my life.

That chapter had a lot of energy… and a lot of life in it, especially getting to share a little of it with my sister.

That’s when life really started to open up.

I was working at the Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale, wearing a sarong, serving cocktails, and right in the middle of one of the most fun, high-energy places around.

It felt like everything was moving fast… exciting, a little unpredictable, and full of life.

Not long after that, I met my first husband.

And just like that…

life shifted again.

That’s when I became her.

Before long, I stepped into one of the most defining seasons of my life.

Those years stretched me in ways I didn’t expect.

They taught me patience…

strength…

and a kind of love that changes you.

I was learning, growing, becoming someone new—

even if I didn’t fully realize it at the time.

Looking back now,

I can see how much of me was formed right there.

Around that time, life handed me something I didn’t see coming.

When my kids were in 3rd and 4th grade, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

I had to have a radical hysterectomy.

At the time, there were only four doctors in the entire country who performed that surgery,

and somehow, one of them was right there in Fort Lauderdale.

I remember going into it not really knowing what the outcome would be.

You don’t think in big dramatic terms in moments like that…

you just think, “Okay… let’s do this.”

And afterward… something shifted.

I began to look at each day a little differently.

Not in a loud or dramatic way,

just a quiet awareness of how precious time really is.

I’ve often felt like I was given more time…

like I’ve been blessed with these extra years.

And I’ve tried to live them that way.

I later found out there were people praying for me…

people I had never even met.

That has stayed with me all these years.

They were right there with me through all of it.

Those years were full.

I was working, figuring things out, and raising two kids at the same time.

They were right there with me in it all, sometimes even part of it, like these moments at the Mai Kai.

We made a life that was busy, a little unpredictable, and full of laughter.

Looking back, I don’t remember it as hard...

I remember it feeling full.

I didn’t plan that part of my life either.

Somewhere in the middle of raising kids and working,

I started getting opportunities to be in front of the camera.

Honestly, it wasn’t something I had ever planned.

But I said yes.

And in doing that, I found a side of myself I didn’t even know was there -

a little braver, a little more willing to try things,

even when they felt completely outside my comfort zone.

And that’s truly how my life has gone. I say yes and figure it out along the way.

After a long chapter of building a life,

a 25-year marriage, raising our family, and moving more times than I can count,

I started to find my way back to myself.

Just when I would start to feel settled… it seemed like the grass would get pulled out from under me again.

We moved from Florida to Colorado Springs first-building a home on a ridge with a view of Garden of the Gods and then on to so many other places after that.

Every move meant starting over.

Making friends… and eventually leaving them.

Finding my footing, again and again.

And even though it wasn’t always easy,

I learned how to step into each place and really live there.

Hawaii, especially, opened something in me -

paddle boarding, taking art classes at the museum in Honolulu,

and beginning to see the world a little more creatively.

Other places brought their own rhythm,

long winters in Ohio, the energy of Virginia Beach,

and seasons in Florida that shaped me in different ways.

Looking back now, I can see that every place gave me something—

and slowly, without realizing it, it was all shaping me.

That chapter eventually came to an end,

and with it came another kind of beginning.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle.

Dick and I first knew each other when we were twelve,

just kids, really.

Years went by - full lives, marriages, families.

And then, through my best friend Pam, we found our way back to each other again.

It didn’t feel new.

It felt familiar, like something that had always been there.

Before we knew it, we were picking up right where we left off -

laughing, talking, and yes… kissing again like we were back at the Inwood Theatre.

And this time, it stayed.

Somewhere along the way, I started to feel a little invisible.

Not inside - I still felt like I was 35.

But I could see how the world was beginning to look at me differently.

And I remember thinking…

this is crazy.

Because I felt strong.

Alive.

Curious.

Full of energy and ideas.

Probably more so than I ever had before.

That’s really where Rooted & Radiant began.

I wanted to show what I knew to be true,

that women don’t fade as they get older.

We become more.

More ourselves.

More grounded.

More alive in ways that only come from living a full life.

And if I can help younger women see that,

maybe they won’t fear getting older.

Maybe they’ll even look forward to it.

Because there is something really beautiful waiting on the other side of it.