I so loved this piece Barb! I found it interesting what you shared about how you felt after your mother’s passing. I experienced a similar thing a few years ago when my Mom passed.
Barb, what stayed with me is that the prayer itself never changed, but your understanding of how it would be answered did. There is something deeply moving about the fact that after years of caring for others in structured roles, the next chapter emerged through vulnerability, storytelling, and connection rather than another credential or title. I was especially struck by how your mother's legacy appears throughout the piece, not simply as a memory you carry, but as a way of being that continues to find expression through your life and work. The women who found your writing seem less like an audience and more like confirmation that the seeds planted through years of service were still growing in ways you could not yet see. Thank you for sharing such an honest testimony to the surprising ways purpose, grief, and grace can converge.
Very nice, Barb. I, too, began my venture (website, newsletter, Substack), after spinal surgery effectively forced me out of my career. Best thing ever. Sometimes, there's clearly someone/something else that knows what we need more than we do.
I so loved this piece Barb! I found it interesting what you shared about how you felt after your mother’s passing. I experienced a similar thing a few years ago when my Mom passed.
Barb, what stayed with me is that the prayer itself never changed, but your understanding of how it would be answered did. There is something deeply moving about the fact that after years of caring for others in structured roles, the next chapter emerged through vulnerability, storytelling, and connection rather than another credential or title. I was especially struck by how your mother's legacy appears throughout the piece, not simply as a memory you carry, but as a way of being that continues to find expression through your life and work. The women who found your writing seem less like an audience and more like confirmation that the seeds planted through years of service were still growing in ways you could not yet see. Thank you for sharing such an honest testimony to the surprising ways purpose, grief, and grace can converge.
Oh. This touched my heart. I am glad your prayers are being answered.
Very nice, Barb. I, too, began my venture (website, newsletter, Substack), after spinal surgery effectively forced me out of my career. Best thing ever. Sometimes, there's clearly someone/something else that knows what we need more than we do.