The Date Stayed. My Life Changed. ❤️

Twelve years ago today, September 27 meant something very different to me.

On September 27, 2014, I got married.

At the time, I thought I knew what the years ahead would look like. I had a picture in my head of the life I was building and the future that would follow.

Life had other plans.

That marriage became part of my story, but it wasn’t the ending of it.

When my divorce was finalized in 2019, there was grief. There was anger. There were things to untangle and pieces of myself I had to figure out again.

And yes, there was also a divorce party. 😂

That’s where this picture came from.

At the time, it represented closing a chapter.

Looking at it now, I see something different.

I see the beginning of everything that came afterward.

I had to learn how to build a life that belonged to me. I learned more about independence—and eventually that being independent doesn’t mean never needing anyone. I found friendships that became family. I found new reasons to laugh. I kept advocating. I kept growing.

Eventually, Osko came into my life and became my partner through more than I ever could have predicted.

I started writing.

Then I actually published the things I wrote.

I told stories I once wasn’t sure I was brave enough to tell. I started creating books for kids and teenagers growing up with JDM. I built a website to give all of those stories, resources, photographs, advocacy work, and whatever comes next a home.

And somewhere in all of that, I found my voice.

September 27 is still September 27.

The date didn’t change just because my life did.

There was a time when I might have looked at this date and thought mostly about what ended.

Today, I can look at it and recognize everything that began afterward.

I don’t regret that September 27 was once my wedding anniversary. That chapter helped shape me, too. There were good moments, painful ones, lessons I needed, and experiences that became part of the person I am today.

But one chapter—even a really important one—doesn’t get to decide how the whole story ends.

Maybe that’s one of the biggest things I’ve learned along the way.

Sometimes the future you planned doesn’t happen.

Sometimes the life you end up building looks nothing like the one you pictured.

And sometimes, years later, you look around and realize you’re standing in a life you couldn’t have imagined back then.

The date stayed.

My life changed.

And I kept writing the next chapter. ❤️