Pinch Me—Am I Dreaming? The Night Before Anchored in Hope Becomes Reality
As I sit here in my hotel room the night before the Anchored in Hope celebration, I can’t help but keep whispering to myself, “Is this real?” The glow of the bedside lamp flickers softly across my journal, and outside the window, the city hums with its usual rhythm. But inside this heart of mine, everything feels anything but usual. It feels surreal. Magical. Like I’ve been swept up into a dream I never quite believed I was allowed to have.
Tonight, I’m not just a mom, a wife, a writer, or a podcast host—I’m a published author about to walk into a celebration for something my soul poured into. I keep looking around the room for someone to high-five or hug, but it’s just me, my thoughts, and the kind of joy that wells up and spills over in quiet tears.
I think back to the late nights and early mornings, the self-doubt, the re-writes, and the wondering if my words were enough. There were so many moments when I questioned whether my story mattered—whether I mattered in the bigger picture. But tomorrow, I’ll be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with women who didn’t just write chapters, but who lived them. We survived them. We anchored ourselves through them.
I’m sitting here with my dress hanging on the back of the door, my shoes tucked neatly under the chair, and butterflies fluttering in my stomach like it’s prom night all over again. But this? This is bigger than any high school memory. This is me showing up for that little girl inside who once doubted her voice.
The book is called Anchored in Hope, and honestly, that title alone could sum up my journey. Hope has always been my tether. In grief, in healing, in motherhood, in marriage, in writing—hope is what held me when I couldn’t hold myself.
Tomorrow, I get to celebrate not just a book launch, but a life moment. A heart moment. A community moment. I get to look into the eyes of fellow storytellers and say, “We did it.” And I get to look in the mirror and finally say, “You did it.”
So tonight, I let the disbelief settle in. I let the dreaminess swirl. I let the joy overflow and the gratitude pour out like confetti. I may need someone to pinch me in the morning, but for now, I’m just savoring this unreal, unforgettable moment.
Because some dreams take a long time to arrive—but when they do, they’re worth every twist and turn of the journey.
