Summer 2025

Rest, Reflect, Recharge: A Summer Offstage
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​Summer has always been my time to breathe. I’ve always treated summer as my built-in intermission. A pause between seasons. A chance to rest, reset, and maybe sneak in a few trips to the pool before the acting class curtain rises again.

But this summer felt different.

​Maybe it was all the milestones happening at once.

• I watched my only daughter graduate from high school, take on a new job, and find herself in negotiations for the use of the car.
• Schedules confined us, and we only took a one-week summer family vacation to Tahoe (less one child), instead of our traditional family three-week cross-country trip.
• And we had an unexpected loss with the passing of our sweet Leo.

​And while the kids were off at their summer camps and the husband was traveling for work, I found myself in an unfamiliar state of stillness. It was quiet. A little too quiet. But in that space, I reflected. I grieved as chapters ended and sat with the silence, trying to let it teach me something.

With every ending chapter, another one begins, too, and I tried to find joy in the changes. We celebrated my youngest son’s 15th birthday and prepared for my daughter’s transition to college away from home. I shopped for smaller clothes, having lost 70 pounds on my weight loss journey.

And now, as fall approaches, I feel like I’ve recharged—not just physically, but creatively and emotionally, too. The season ahead is full of plans: new classes, new stories, and new possibilities. But I’m carrying this quiet summer with me as a reminder that stepping offstage doesn’t mean stepping away from life.
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Sometimes the best stories unfold when the spotlight fades, and real life takes center stage.

Tahoe

My Graduate

Leo