From Setback to Comeback: Creating a Story of Resilience and Faith

 Well, welcome to the ramblings of an insane blonde! 

It’s been years since I’ve offered a newsletter or blog with an insight to my personal life and opinions. 

You won’t get this every week. You’re welcome. (We have waaaaaaay better things to stuff into your inbox.). But, when you do, should you choose to read, prepare to get the unvarnished truth from the unpolished D’Ette.  

The frequent question asked of me in the last year is “where the heck are you located this week?” I’ve been hopping around a bit for a variety of different reasons.  For those who may not have been privy to the personal details of my life the last year, here’s the bullet points:

• March 2024: Fred and I traveled to Tennessee with our son, Luke, and grandson to locate and put in an offer to purchase land we could build on together.
• April 2024: I traveled to Birmingham, Alabama and Biloxi, Mississippi to teach a course called Party to Profit and spent time with amazing people.  (I also had a couple severe gall bladder attacks.  NOT FUN in a hotel room by yourself!)
• April 30, 2024: We closed on our property in Tennessee (so excited!) and I went in for emergency gall bladder removal.
• May 1, 2024: We received a phone call that our son had been in a motorcycle accident and transported to the hospital I had left hours earlier after surgery. 
• We lost our son and many people who had been sitting on a list waiting for organs received a call that they would live.

This began a whole new meaning for us in “setbacks”.

• June had me traveling with another grandson and daughter-in-love to Tennessee to view the property we had purchased and begin the “what now?” conversations.  We determined this was the last gift we’d received from Luke, and we would move forward.  (It just looks different than we planned.)
• July was spent packing up a family of 6 (now 5) to make the long drive from Alaska to Tennessee.  (Fred made that drive in August)
• August found me teaching and hosting a mastermind in Colorado.  Again, with amazing people that I call “friend”.  I ended this trip with family that met me there for the KLOVE concert at Red Rocks. (My heart began to heal there.) 
• From Colorado, I flew to Texas to meet up with my “Texas parents” so we could drive one of Luke’s cars which had been left there to Tennessee for his son.  Then, I flew home to Alaska with my husband.
• September was spent in Alaska teaching locally.
• October 1, 2024: Fred and I made a bold decision to break apart from the team we had merged and move brokerages (after 17 years!) as well. Meanwhile I was jumping around the state teaching Business Planning. Somewhere in there, I built another real estate team made up of some of the best in the industry! Oh—and I started a podcast.  (That’s its own story.)

Welcome to another Set Back and the beginning of Come Back.

• November had me on a plane again to Tennessee to see the family and help get them through the first Thanksgiving without Luke. Unfortunately, Fred could not join me this time. And since we still did not have a house on the property, I was also couch-surfing around Tennessee. (Thank God for good friends!)
• December had me doing more teaching and meeting up with clients and friends in Biloxi. It may sound silly, but I healed a little more when I was able to really sing for the first time since May. That was a gift from a good friend and another step in Comeback. I was able to spend Christmas with the family before heading back home to Alaska.
• January and February finally allowed Fred and I some time together. We took a much-needed trip to our cabin on Lake Louise (my happy place) with friends, family, and granddaughters. Another step in our Comeback.
• March had me in Juneau for a week for Leadership Academy (which I will be building out for future) and the Hill Visits for Alaska Realtors®. Then on another plane for Tennessee. I had a week at a real estate conference in Nashville. The rest of the time has been spent with the family and getting the house ready for occupancy. (Yay!!!). More Comeback!

So, you see, it is no wonder that people cannot figure out where I am on any given day.  And that’s okay.  What I have learned is that I am still resilient.

God never promised that I would have an easy life. He just promised to walk with me. He has, He does, and He will. 

Yes, we have experienced great loss. But our story continues. I have an incredible marriage (I’d be lost without you, Fred), an amazing family spread out across the country, a fantastic team (shout out to Rise Realty Group), a supportive brokerage led by friends (thank you Lonnie and Joe Logan at Realty One Group Aurora!) and a growing business development business (Successfully Yours - coaching, teaching and all the things). 

Oh... and I host the worst podcast ever! (Okay—I don’t really know that because I don’t watch podcasts. But it’s fun to say.)

I don’t know what part of my world has caused you to receive this rambling update. I highly doubt it will ever be this personal (and pleeeeeease not this long) again. 

But thank you. Thank you for being in my world. Thank you for caring about my life. Thank you for praying for my family. I just wanted you to know, I’m on the comeback! 

God still has use for me and I’m no quitter.