Welcome to the Chaos: I’m Booked, Blessed & Definitely Running Late

I Help People Manage Stress… Meanwhile, Have You Seen My House?

Welcome to Booked, Blessed & Barely on Time — a blog about motherhood, marriage, mental health, running a business, and occasionally wondering why I walked into a room in the first place.

By day, I own a counseling private practice. I spend my time helping people navigate stress, set boundaries, develop coping skills, challenge unhelpful thoughts, and somehow continuing to try to find a little peace in the middle of life's chaos.

Then I close my laptop.

And immediately hear:

“MOM!”

Welcome to my other full-time job.

I'm a working mom to a six-year-old boy, wife to a husband who is along for this beautifully chaotic ride, and human servant to two dogs who apparently believe every movement toward the kitchen means they're getting a snack.

So yes, I help people manage stress for a living.

And yes, I occasionally stand in my kitchen staring at a sink full of dishes while mentally reviewing every decision I've made since 2014.

Both things can be true.

Therapist Does Not Mean Perfect

There's a funny assumption that comes with being a therapist.

Surely, we must have our lives completely together.

Our children probably use healthy coping skills without being reminded. Our marriages are models of flawless communication. Our houses are organized. We meal prep every Sunday. We never lose our keys. Our laundry is folded AND put away.

That's cute.

Meanwhile, I'm over here using every ounce of my clinical training to remain emotionally regulated while my six-year-old explains at bedtime that he needs something for school tomorrow morning.

Something we definitely do not have.

And apparently Amazon cannot teleport it to my front porch in the next seven minutes.

Being a therapist doesn't make me immune to stress. If anything, sometimes it creates hilarious moments when I realize I should probably take my own advice.

Deep breathing?

Yes.

Healthy boundaries?

Working on it.

Self-care?

Does drinking coffee before it gets cold count?

Recognizing what is and isn't within my control?

Ask me again after I've searched the entire house for one missing shoe.

Somewhere Between a Caseload and a Lunchbox

Owning a private practice was a dream of mine.

It is also one of those dreams that comes with considerably more paperwork than the inspirational quotes on social media led me to believe.

Being a business owner means wearing approximately 47 hats.

I'm a therapist.

I'm an administrator.

I'm marketing.

I'm scheduling.

I'm billing.

I'm customer service.

I'm IT when something stops working.

And then, when the workday ends, those hats get exchanged for another collection.

Mom.

Wife.

Snack provider.

Homework helper.

Dog wrangler.

Finder of mysteriously missing objects.

Keeper of everyone's schedule.

And the person apparently responsible for knowing what's for dinner.

There are days when I feel like I'm absolutely crushing it.

Clients are taken care of. The business is moving forward. My son is happy. Dinner gets made. The dogs are fed on time. My husband and I actually have a conversation that doesn't revolve around schedules or responsibilities.

Those days are magical.

Then there are days when dinner is whatever I can assemble in ten minutes or less, there's dog hair everywhere, I forgot something on the calendar, and I'm pretty sure the laundry (and maybe the washer) has been living in the dryer long enough to legally claim residency.

That's life.

The Blessing in Being Booked

The truth is, my life is incredibly full.

Sometimes too full.

But when I look around at the chaos, I also see everything I once hoped for.

A career that allows me to help people.

A business I get to call my own.

A little boy who made me a mom.

A husband to share this crazy life with.

Two dogs who follow me everywhere, shed on everything, and somehow make our house feel even more like home.

There are appointments, deadlines, school activities, dishes, client notes, bills, laundry, dog hair, business decisions, grocery lists, and approximately 9,642 snacks.

But underneath all of that?

There's a whole lot of love.

I'm booked.

I'm blessed.

And most days, I'm barely on time.

Hence the name.

Why I'm Starting This Blog

I wanted a place where I could talk about the side of life that doesn't fit neatly into a professional bio.

The funny parts.

The hard parts.

The “surely I'm not the only person doing this” parts.

I want to talk about motherhood and mental health. Marriage and careers. Building a business while raising a family. Mom guilt. Boundaries. Burnout. Relationships. Self-care that actually fits into real life. And what happens when the person who spends all day encouraging other people to take care of themselves realizes she hasn't sat down since 7:00 a.m.

There will probably be some mental health education along the way.

There will definitely be stories about being a working mom.

There may be lessons I've learned from owning a private practice.

There will almost certainly be dog hair.

But more than anything, I want this to be a place for real life.

Not perfectly curated life.

Not social-media-highlight-reel life.

Real, messy, funny, exhausting, beautiful life.

Because you can know all the coping skills and still get overwhelmed.

You can love your family more than anything and still desperately need five minutes when nobody says your name.

You can be grateful for your career and still have days when you're exhausted.

You can help other people carry their heavy things while acknowledging that sometimes your own arms get tired too.

And maybe that's something we need to talk about more often.

So, welcome to Booked, Blessed & Barely on Time.

Grab some coffee.

Ignore the dog hair.

And if I'm five minutes late...

Well, now you know why.