About

It’s an exciting and scary transformation here in Joni’s world. I am finally creating the blog I have dreamed of for some time. I am muddling my way through the technology and aching to get to the fun part of this adventure.

I am the wife of one husband (Kris) and the mother of two daughters, Emma is 16 and Ava is forever 11. At 44, I am still defining who I am and what I will be when I grow up, so I thought we could do that together. I am desperately seeking my greater purpose in life.

Writing has always been a passion of mine. It has been a calling since high school and I graduated from college with a Communications/Journalism degree. I have dreamed of writing a book for years, then life got “lifeish” and I got busy with the job, the marriage, and the kids. Not in a bad way, though we were living the dream. We had a simple, happy life, a life I would go back to in a heartbeat.

How did I get here then? Life had a different plan for my family. We lost our beautiful Ava on 9/11/17, two days before her 12th birthday. She was an inspiration to people all around the world and still is to this day. She lived life to the fullest even to the very end. I come from a small town. I live in a small town. We come from large families too, so I have to remember that this is the great big internet world and not everyone knows Ava. To read Ava’s story click here.

Why a blog? I had started creating a timeline to write Ava’s memoir and I was struggling terribly with grief and adjusting to life without Ava. I needed a way to share my journey, I needed to build a pattern of writing on a regular schedule and in a positive manner to lift my spirits and hopefully help others along the way. The memoir is still in the plan, but I need to grow and heal a little bit first and the best way I know how to do that is by helping others and sharing my heart.

Thank you for sharing in this journey of health, healing, inspiration and personal growth.