When I First Understood How Hard This Really Is

I was trying to protect a career I had spent twenty years building while showing up for my husband, my parents, my son, and everyone else who depended on me.

Some days it felt like I was holding three families together at once.

For twenty years, I sat with families during some of the hardest moments of their lives.

I helped them navigate senior living decisions, family disagreements, health crises, financial concerns, and the overwhelming question of what comes next.

I knew the questions to ask. I knew the systems.  
I knew the options. I thought I understood what families were going through.

Then it happened to me.

At the same time my husband was diagnosed with cancer, my aging parents needed more of me than my calendar had room all while trying to maintain a somewhat normal life for our son who was only 10 years old.

about me

And despite everything I knew professionally, I still found myself asking the same questions I had heard from hundreds of other families before me:

Am I overreacting?
Is it time to say something?
How do I start this conversation?
What happens if I wait too long?

Eventually, I walked away from two executive leadership positions I had worked hard to earn. Once for my husband. Once for my parents. There was never a question about what mattered most. But I learned something important during those years. 

The hardest part is not finding information. The hardest part is knowing where to begin.

Because when you're noticing changes, feeling responsible, and trying to balance work, family, and everything else life demands, the next step is rarely obvious.

That's why I created The Aging Society.