This post is brought to you by a pair of Hogwarts pajama pants that I've been wearing since noon. Today, even leaving the house feels challenging. Although I’m sure we are not unanimous in our political views, I think it is safe to say that the majority of us are in shock after last night's results. 

I share in your disbelief. My heart was heavy as I woke my kids up for school this morning. Our conversations were hard. I want them to feel safe, and to believe that everything is going to be OK, even when I myself need to be convinced that this is true. 

People have asked me how I got the courage to start my own business. "It seems like such a huge risk!" they tell me. Before I started Barre & Soul, it felt scary to me too. In fact, the thought of starting a business gave me nightmares.

In these nightmares, tumbleweeds blew through an empty studio where I sat, weeping at the front desk, writing out rent check after rent check, nothing to eat but dust and shame as I slipped into financial ruin. I was potently afraid.

The part I feared most about opening a barre and yoga studio of my own, was signing a lease. Leases are a big commitment, a legally binding, enduring, long-term arrangement for people who don’t mind being tied down and who have enough money in the bank to float a few bad months, or years. When I was in the early days of Barre & Soul - signing a lease felt like signing my life away.

OK, it's official.  Right now is the most powerful point in my life (so far.)  I was recently honored to be a guest speaker to raise awareness for the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, serving the greater Newburyport, MA area.  Why was I asked to speak?  Because years ago, I was one of their clients, someone who needed a place to turn, and who came to them seeking help putting my life back together after domestic violence.