ABOUT ME

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I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, the eldest of four children. My siblings are four, six, and eight years younger than I am—which means my poor brother was blessed with three older sisters! We grew up with wonderful parents who loved us very much and gave us everything we needed.

I married at 37 to a man I thought was perfect for me. As it turned out, he wasn't, and four and a half years later, I divorced him. Not long afterward, I packed up and moved to Austin, Texas.

Austin was an adventure, and I was determined to experience all of it. I kayaked Town Lake on weekends, rode my bike on the trails, explored the city, frequented the hot spots, and made new friends. I also quickly discovered that Austin is a young city! But I loved it.

While I was living there, my father passed away—a dreadful loss. I was home in Kansas City when he actually died, and afterward I decided it was time to move back home.

And when I say I moved myself, I mean it quite literally.

I packed everything I owned into the largest U-Haul they made, hitched a trailer to the back for my car, climbed behind the wheel, and drove that enormous rig all the way from Austin to Kansas City. By myself.

My mother and I then went to work restoring my father's beautiful old home so we could sell it. By the time we finished, my sister and I both wanted to keep it!

Instead, I sold it myself—For Sale by Owner.

I also made mistakes. Quite a few, actually.

At the time, I didn't know what I didn't know. Years later, after becoming a licensed REALTOR®, I would realize just how much goes into selling a home properly—and how many things an unlicensed seller may never even know to look for.

But that lesson came later.

Once the house was sold and everything had settled down, I discovered something unexpected: Kansas City didn't feel quite as welcoming and homey as I had imagined it would.

So I decided to go back to Austin.

Fortunately, I had never really unpacked because I'd been living in my father's house during the renovation. So, yes—I loaded up another U-Haul, rented another trailer for my car, and drove the whole contraption back to Texas.🚚😄

Apparently, once wasn't enough.

Not long afterward, I became a licensed REALTOR® in Texas. That's when I began to understand all the mistakes I'd made selling my father's home on my own. There were contracts, disclosures, negotiations, deadlines, liabilities, and details I simply hadn't known enough to anticipate.

It was quite an education.

Things went well for me in Texas, and I truly loved Austin. I lived there for about 15 years and came to know the city very well. The heat took some getting used to, but wearing shorts at Christmas was definitely a bonus!

In 2022, life brought me back to Kansas City once again. I obtained real estate licenses in Missouri and Kansas in addition to Texas. Today, I practice real estate part-time in Missouri and Texas, while spending the rest of my time writing, pursuing whatever hobby has captured my attention at the moment, and hanging out with my best friend.

His name is Jack.

Jack is a big grey domestic shorthair whom I affectionately refer to as a tomcat. He's also extremely needy.

If Jack decides I haven't given him enough attention, he'll sit directly on me. If I'm looking at my phone instead of him, he'll put his paw over it. If these subtle communications fail, he's been known to take a swipe at me.

And, yes, there has been the occasional BITE.

This has earned him one of his many nicknames: Jack-the-Ripper.

Then there's Jack-in-the-Box, which usually appears whenever we have a delivery. And the possibilities seem endless: Jack Daniels, Jack Knife, Jack Sparrow, Jack Frost, Jack Pot—and whatever new variation occurs to me that day.

We have a lot of fun together.

Every evening, we watch television. Jack has his seat, and I have mine. There is petting. There is brushing. There are established expectations.

Every morning, he wakes me up. I begin my routine, and then we move on to the most important part of his routine: breakfast.

We are creatures of habit, Jack and I.

And our life together is wonderfully predictable.

These days, I spend much of my time reading books—the old-fashioned way, with actual pages—writing, learning new things, and attempting to bring some old hobbies back to life. Some of those attempts are going better than others!

I also continue to work in real estate, helping people buy and sell homes. It's a career that has taught me a tremendous amount about people, relationships, problem-solving, and the importance of knowing what you're doing before you put a For Sale by Owner sign in the yard.

I recently rejoined Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), a wonderful program for anyone interested in reading and learning more about the Bible. I'm enjoying being part of it again.

Overall, I keep busy. I've lived in different places, started over more than once, learned some lessons the hard way, and collected plenty of stories along the way.

These days, I'm grateful to be back in Kansas City, close to family and friends—and sharing my home, my routines, and apparently my television with Jack.

Life isn't always predictable.

Jack's breakfast, however, is.