About

When I turned 59 in September 2023, I realized that what I wanted more than anything was to right-size my life and live it as well as I could with authenticity, radical honesty, wonder, and joy. I gave myself a deadline of my 60th birthday, a whole year to focus my energy and enthusiasm on doing things that make me happy, tune into who I am, and share it. I had a good idea of what I had to do, made a few quiet tweaks, and by the time January rolled around, I had a plan, or so I thought.

I travelled solo this past spring, which resulted in that plan going out the window. Then I went to Europe with my eldest for three weeks. When in Tuscany, at a retreat led by the incomparable Colette Baron-Reid, I made a spiritually-based “mindful line” canvas, and the card I pulled to rest at the centre of it was the BUFFALO—the largest land mammal in North America. Spirit has a sense of humour. It was the ideal card to show me that to right-size my life, I had to accept my BIGNESS, capacity, and size. I’ve been told to play small my whole life, not take up space, and, most of all, be out of the way. Well, at 5’10”, that demand was ridiculous. For over 50 years, to have been criticized for what I couldn’t control was patently absurd and physically impossible. But, in my case, dutiful eldest, I did what I was told; I didn’t want to disappoint. Then reality hit. I will live my life for me, not the expectations, demands, and agendas of others. They don’t like who I am or how I show up? I’m happy not to be around to annoy them, the ultimate in invisible. What I will do is show up for myself and those who love me for who I am. Fortunately, I am well blessed with wonderful children, friends, and some family.

I know this sounds like a pretty rudimentary belief, but this was the biggest ah-ha of my life! It never occurred to me that they were wrong; I always believed it was me and turned myself into a pretzel to make everyone happy and maybe love me. The demands on my behaviour were so constant and consistent that they had to be true. Right?

Wrong.

A few things shuffled in my head and my heart, and I knew what I had to do. After all of my years of reading, studying, and falling in love with the stories and history of women in our communities, and in my years of planning the creation of a women’s retreat centre, I came to create my real plan: Crone Rising. It was initially going to be a Substack newsletter, and now, instead, it will be a weekly podcast. I will be asking ordinary women “of an age” what they do to stay relevant in a world that continuously wants them to be invisible.

I’ll also continue to write. I got in touch with myself and realized that now is not the time to write a novel, though for two years and longer, I have created outlines for four! I’m not there yet; I may never be, but I love the idea of a newsletter. I read and subscribe to several truly brilliant Substack accounts. I get such enjoyment from them. Maybe I could create the same enjoyment for others? I love sharing my discoveries and asking for insights. 

My Lessons in a Good Life will share all that I’m passionate about. What is that? Slow living, those who’ve seen my book collection may not believe it, but I like the idea of minimalism and simplicity. My aesthetic is colourful, but it is clean - lines, design, order, all of that is my jam. Embracing 60+ is something I’ll become an expert at in the coming years, but my approach is as that “old lady” who grew up in the 1980s who remembers that I used to dance on tables in bars, had bright red hair, sung at the top of my lungs, wore at least 4” heels to work every day – and is remembering how to live my life out loud.  Ebb + Flow of metaphysics and woo - or, how to make physics simple through trust and faith. To me, nothing is more beautiful than living in the rhythm of the moon and its phases, pagan sabbats, and a natural approach to life. Creative Therapy because photography will always be a big part of my life, as well as other creative projects. As long as the creativity hits on gratitude, curiosity, and kindness, I’m IN and look forward to sharing. Life is too short not to show up and live the best version you can create for yourself.

And finally, there is Spilled Ink. This is where I hope to publish short and long stories, some may even be true. Earlier this year, I was stuck with one of my novels and decided to apply to a writing coach holding a virtual retreat - not just any coach, but a super successful celebrity coach with famous clients. It was the first thing I did that was scary and BIG. I was accepted into the cohort. I felt my thoughts were going into the darker recesses of my life and colouring my upbeat, funny and complicated characters with too much of my history. So, I wrote several stories to purge them out of my system, kind of like literary therapy. I showed up each week with words of torment and cruelty, and the small group laughed, encouraged, and generally enjoyed each sad story. They were exhausting to write, but maybe I might share a few new ones?

So that’s the new plan. Go BIG, right?

Welcome. I hope you join me in elevated conversations!

xoL