ABOUT

BELIEF #1

Time doesn't heal. It's what we do with that time. A year from now, we can still be bitter or we can be better.

BELIEF #2

If we focus on the intention behind people's sometimes poorly delivered words, we will be a lot less upset about "what they should have said".

BELIEF #3

I like to imagine that my late husband can't see what is going on down here. I live life taking in every single moment so when we meet again someday, I will make him proud to find out everything that happened after he left.

Ultimately, our obituary is a summary of our life. I want mine to be fun to read.

I'M LIZ

I am a recovering hustle-culture millennial who did everything “right” (paid off student loans, avoided consumer debt, delayed having kids until it was financially smart, established careers first), who suddenly found myself alone and widowed with two kids right when we got to the point where decades of carefully planned decisions were supposed to pay off. Even though my late husband helped support my dream and career of working as a Nurse Practitioner, a couple of years after he died I realized it no longer suited me. I made a career change that better serves this new version of me. I started a flower farm, 20Xing my sales in four years and selling thousands of bouquets each summer. My flower farm can be found here.

Like many people who have lost a loved one, I went through a phase where I dabbled in the idea of starting a non-profit, and quickly realized that would not be a good fit for me personally. I decided to start the Bloom and Grow with Liz podcast to elevate the voices of resources that are already doing so much to grow through their grief.

Join me on a journey of healing, self-love, self-discovery, and living an abundant and fulfilling life.

MY STORY

After six years of marriage, two days after our only daughter’s birthday, I lost my husband. The day after his funeral, I found out I was pregnant again.

Widowed and pregnant at 31 years old, I spent the first six months in a state of rage and anger, continuously growing more upset when people treated me like either a fragile flower or a bomb about to explode. After months of therapy, I learned to focus on the intention behind people’s words rather than get upset when they didn’t approach a situation how I wanted them to. Grief can be isolating, but we grievers can’t shut out everyone who says or does the “wrong thing”. One day, I decided to focus on the intention behind the sometimes poorly delivered sentiments because I realized if I ended every relationship when someone said the wrong thing, I would not have any friends left. I was glad they did not know what I was going through.

Every day I wake up and say to myself, "I'm not going to waste the day being angry. That's not fair to Josh." It takes so much work. I know that anger is a normal part of grief. I can't control the way the world treats grievers, but I can control how I respond.

My podcast, instagram account, book club, and other resources are all devoted to helping it easier for others to grow through grief.

What do I do for a living?

That's a loaded question. Since Josh passed away, I usually don't ask that. I say, "How do you occupy your time?" instead because people often share about their hobbies instead of their job that they hate.

I'm an exception. I LOVE ALL OF MY JOBS!

To summarize:

I run a flower farm in Central MN. We have blooms from roughly April to October and host a lot of pick your own public and private events and about 100 customers have a weekly subscription where they pre-purchase their bouquets in the off-season. While some weeks it is reliant on me, during the majority of the summer I have an amazing team that does the day to day farm work and I get to focus more on the podcast and coaching aspects.

I work one day a week as a nurse practitioner doing video visits for virtual urgent care. I spent a lot of time to get the initials "Dr." in front of my name and even though that career doesn't serve me as I thought it would in this new life, I still love seeing patients... and of course I want to keep my license up to date! I am fortunate to work for a healthcare organization that created a new position for me that worked better for my family after my husband passed.

I host the Sunny Mary Meadow Podcast and offer courses, 1:1, and group coaching. With 10,000+ downloads a month, it's sofun to see where that's heading. We have some wonderful sponsors and I have a great producer!

I am a speaker. I work closely with a few nonprofits and am part of their speakers bureau. I worked closely with a professional coach who helped me craft my stories into lessons that I learned and want to share with others.

I am an author. I self-published a children's book, have published three e-books through Unpacked Publishing, and traditionally published a gardening journal though Hadleigh House that peeked at #2 in gardening books on Amazon (which I'm pretty proud of!) Stay tuned for a few other projects in the works!

What do I do for fun?

This podcast & blog! No, I'm serious. I also love reading self-help books so much that I started this free book club!

I'm a big fan of artisan cheese and craft beer. I love running, and have a goal to run at least a 10K in every state (which is why being a professional speaker and virtual nurse practitioner and podcast host are perfect because they can be done anywhere!)

As a family, we love camping, hiking, kayaking, and exploring. My favorite hobby can only happen in the winter though -- cross country skiing! Our daughters are in some activities, but for the most part we try to find hobbies the whole family can enjoy. I was not made to sit in the bleachers for an entire weekend at a dance competition.

I have an amazing fiancé who supports all of my dreams and does all he can to help achieve them. He reminds me to stop and admire the flowers I grow.