About Me

One morning, in the dark just before sunrise, I sat crying in a Dunkin' drive-thru. I think the person ahead of me saw me in their rearview mirror, because when I pulled up to the window, they had already paid for my iced coffee.

I still think about that stranger. It was such a small thing, and it reached me on a morning I was barely holding it together.

My Journey

For a long time, that was most mornings. I was anxious and on edge almost constantly, and my days felt heavy and slow, like moving through molasses. I was showing up for my students, my husband, and my son, and I barely registered on my own to-do list. I wanted to feel joy again. I wanted to actually be present with the people I love.

So I tried everything I could find. Some of it helped a little, some of it didn't help at all, and some of it was unconventional. It took years. What finally shifted things was learning to stop pushing through and start listening to my body, one small practice at a time.

What I Know Now

Anxiety, tension, and exhaustion are often signs of a body that learned to stay on high alert, because at some point that kept you safe. It can learn to settle again, through small moments of safety, repeated: a few slow breaths in the car, your feet in the grass, five quiet minutes before the house wakes up.

Where You'll Find Me Now

These days you'll find me on my lanai with an iced coffee, listening to the birds and using the Merlin app to figure out who’s singing, or at the ocean, which is where I go to come back to myself. I'm a teacher, a mom, and a writer, and sharing writing with a small poetry community helps me stay connected to my body.

The photos throughout this site are my own. Stopping to notice light, water, trees, and flowers is one of the ways I come back to calm.

Some of the moments I treasure most have come from simply being present and soaking it in, especially in nature: the Dry Tortugas, Key West at 6:00am with only the roosters awake, the stillness of the Everglades.

Come wander with me → Rooted & Roaming

Why Regulate & Rise

Regulate & Rise is everything I wish someone had handed me on those mornings in the car. Simple tools, gentle guides, and permission to start with one small thing today.

If you've been holding it together for a very long time, I'm glad you're here,