The Joy Crazy Life 🌼

I just returned from a quick but lovely trip to Michigan. When October weather cooperates, Michigan is especially beautiful. 🍁

I went to see my adult sons, catch up with old friends, and visit my trusted NUCCA chiropractor, Dr. Lisa. She's definitely "out of network" for my insurance, ha-ha!

Along the way, I came home with three reminders about what it means to live a Joy Crazy Life that I hope you'll find insightful.

🌼 SHINE: You were meant to shine

My trip began with an unexpected encounter at the Portland airport.

While waiting for my flight, a family with preteen twin daughters sat across from me. One of the girls had a craniofacial difference, and the other had a hearing difference. I felt an immediate kinship with them.

When the gals stepped away for a moment, I felt a nudge to introduce myself to their dad. I know parents can worry about what life will be like for their children as they grow up, so I wanted him to know that I was born with a craniofacial difference and a hearing difference, too, and that I was doing just fine.

He welcomed the conversation, and soon the girls’ mom joined us. We talked about our shared experiences with disabilities and navigating medical care.

What struck me most was how these girls, Violet and Cora, were simply living their lives. They were curious, bubbly, and open to conversation. They weren’t hiding who they were. In fact, her mother shared that Violet's story can be found on YouTube and the website for Boston Children's Hospital.

As a child, I went to school with my head wrapped in enormous bandages after multiple surgeries to build the foundation for the ear I have today. I could either explain my appearance when people asked or shrink away and hide. I wanted to live my life, so I chose to share my story.

That airport encounter reminded me of something important: I wasn’t just learning to shine. Maybe I was always meant to. I couldn’t help it!

If there’s something about you that you’ve been hiding because you’re afraid of what others might think, I hope you’ll remember that you deserve to take up space, too. What makes you different is part of what makes you you.

☀️ LEARN: You really can go home again

Michigan was my home for 20 years, but some of my earlier visits brought back difficult memories from my divorce. This time, I wanted to enjoy the people and places I love without carrying all that baggage with me.

And I did!

I caught up with longtime friends, played several games (including Euchre, a classic Midwest card game), took my "adult kids" to the film Wildwood (highly recommend it, but its not for chidren), and enjoyed a beautiful fall day out on a friend’s boat. I even left my laptop at home. (I’m pretty proud of that!)

One of the sweetest moments happened when I texted a friend to ask if she happened to be attending the University of Michigan football game that we were headed to (my son had scored free tickets from a coworker!). It had been years since I'd seen my friend, and I wasn't sure if the mobile number I had still worked. But I learned her daughter was a freshman in the Michigan Marching Band, so I took a chance and sent a text. 

Sure enough, my friend and her husband were just around the corner from us!

The four of us got to cheer and clap together as her daughter marched past us into the stadium. It brought back memories of watching my own son do the same thing ten years earlier. It was great fun and lovely to catch up.

Above, my son, Parker, and I attended the Michigan football game, along with 110,000 people.
Michigan lost to Indiana in overtime, but it was still fun. Go Blue!

I learned on my trip that you really can go home again—even if it’s not where you grew up. You can revisit a place with a fresh perspective and make new memories without letting old ones define the experience.

Life will always have ups and downs, but I’m learning that we don’t have to carry every bit of our past into the present.

🌻 CONNECT: Community helps us heal

One of the highlights of my trip was having lunch with my mentor and friend Jan Janke, author of Splashes of Spirit: A Guide to Joy.

Jan helped me discover my own North Star and develop my personal mission statement: Connect others to joyful experiences. To learn more about her book, which I highly recommend, click this Amazon link.

Jan also reminded me of something I’ve come to believe deeply: community can be healing.

After her husband, Charlie, passed away unexpectedly, she faced the enormous challenge of learning to live without someone she loved so much. Over lunch, we talked a bit about what those early days were like four years ago. Some days, making the bed felt impossible. Other days, she confessed, dinner was peanut butter eaten straight from the jar while standing in the kitchen.

What helped carry her through was community: friends who checked in, people who brought meals, and those who offered a text, a listening ear, or a little help when she needed it.

Healing takes time, and we don’t have to do it alone.

But community doesn’t always happen by itself. We have to nurture it. 

Jan sends me a beautiful birthday card every year, written in her lovely calligraphy, and I treasure that little reminder that we’re part of each other’s lives.

On this visit, I brought her sunny yellow flowers and a Joy Crazy visor so she could take a little extra joy with her to the pickleball court. Like many, she has found her pickleball community adds social connection and fun to her life—she plays three times a week!

She is sunshine to me, and I’m grateful she’s part of my community.

My takeaway? Connection is a gift we give each other—and one we can keep building, one small gesture at a time.

Above, my friend Jan Janke treated me to lunch at her new condo overlooking a beautiful marsh. Here she is wearing the "Joy Crazy" visor I gave her to wear on the pickleball court.
Jan's book, Splashes of Spirit: A Guide to Joy, is a terrific read. It's full of simple tips for leading a more joyful life and helps the reader discover their purpose in life.

A little reminder for the road

This quick trip gave me so much to think about.

☀️ Shine: Let yourself be seen. You don’t have to hide the parts of you that make you unique.

 📚 Learn: Give yourself permission to begin again. Your past doesn’t have to determine your present.

🌻 Connect: Nurture your relationships. We all need people who help us feel seen, supported, and less alone.

That’s what Joy Crazy® is all about: finding ways to shine, learn, and connect, even when life throws us curveballs. 

Until next time, keep finding those little moments of joy!

Warmly yours,