Whispers and Wings began during one of the most difficult seasons of my life. When my sister, Michelle – Chelle to those who loved her – passed away at just 52 years old, grief divided my world into a before and an after. On the outside, life continued. There was still laundry, work, dishes, appointments, family, and all the responsibilities that don’t stop simply because your heart is hurting. But inside, everything felt different.
One evening, I stepped outside and watched the sunset. I wasn’t trying to create a tradition or find some profound meaning at the moment. I simply needed a few quiet minutes to breathe. As the sky changed in front of me, it gave me a place to quietly say, “I miss you.” That evening became a small promise: for the first year without Chelle, I would intentionally stop once each week and watch the sunset.
Some were breathtaking. Some were cloudy and gray. Some made me smile. Others made me cry. I began photographing them and writing down whatever was on my heart. Eventually, I realized there would be 52 sunsets: 52 weeks, 52 years of Chelle’s life, and 52 moments to pause, remember, and look for beauty even in an incredibly difficult season.
Those sunsets became 52 Sunsets, but somewhere along the way, they also became the beginning of something much bigger. They changed the way I looked at ordinary moments — a butterfly appearing when someone we love has been on our mind, a familiar song playing at exactly the right time, the peaceful sound of a wind chime, an unexpected act of kindness, a sunset that somehow makes us stop long enough to breathe. And from those moments came Whispers and Wings.
Some of life’s most meaningful messages don’t arrive loudly. They come as whispers – a memory that suddenly makes us smile, a sunset that makes us stop for a moment, a familiar song at just the right time, a handwritten note from someone who cares, an answered prayer, a butterfly that makes us think of someone we love, or a quiet reminder that even during difficult seasons, beauty and hope are still
present.
Whispers represent the gentle moments that encourage us to pause, notice, remember, connect, and keep going.
Wings represent hope, freedom, comfort, growth, remembrance, and transformation. The butterfly has become an important symbol throughout Whispers and Wingss because life is filled with seasons of change.
Some changes are beautiful, while others are incredibly difficult. But even through loss, transition, uncertainty, and the everyday challenges of life, there can still be growth, connection, meaning, and beauty.
Wings also represent something very practical to me: sometimes we can help carry a little of the weight for someone else. That might mean sending a meaningful gift when you don’t know what to say.
It might mean creating something that keeps the memory of someone you love close. And sometimes it simply means having someone handle the errands, organize the house, help an aging parent, pick up the groceries, find a trusted resource, or take something off an already overflowing plate.
That is why Whispers & Wings isn’t just one book, one product, or one service. It is about helping people through the many seasons of life – both the beautiful ones and the difficult ones.
Beauty in the Overlooked is more than our tagline. It is the lens through which I see Whispers and Wings, because some of life’s most meaningful moments are also the easiest to miss.
It might be a sunset after an impossibly difficult day, a butterfly appearing when someone you love has been on your mind, or the quiet sound of a wind chime bringing back a treasured memory. It might be an unexpected gift that simply says, “I’m thinking of you,” a grandparent smiling during an afternoon spent playing cards, or a child proudly holding up something they created.
Sometimes beauty looks even more ordinary – a home that finally feels peaceful again, a caregiver getting a few precious hours to rest, or a family sitting down for dinner together because someone else took care of the errands.
From the outside, these moments may seem small. I don’t believe they are small at all. They are the moments that make up a life.
Whispers and Wings exists to help create more of them, notice more of them, and hold onto the ones that matter. Whatever season you are walking through, I hope Whispers and Wings reminds you to pause every once in a while, look around, and… Find the Beauty in the Overlooked.
For more than 25 years, my career has centered around something that has always come naturally to me: helping people. I have spent much of my professional life in leadership, management, family support, caregiving, and concierge-style roles, helping individuals and families navigate the responsibilities that can make everyday life feel overwhelming. From managing teams and solving problems to finding trusted resources, coordinating care, and helping families figure out “What do we do now?”, I have always been the person who wants to find a way to help.
Long before Whispers and Wings had a name, that was simply who I was. And, in so many ways, it was who my sister Michelle was too. Chelle was the person who would bend over backwards for someone. If you needed something, she showed up. She helped. She gave. She cared deeply about the people around her, often without expecting anything in return.
Losing her changed me profoundly, but it also made me think more intentionally about the kind of life I want to live and the legacy I want to carry forward. Whispers and Wings brings those pieces of my life together. It combines decades of professional experience helping people with something much more personal: a desire to make people feel seen, supported, remembered, and cared for.
Sometimes that looks like helping a busy family reclaim a little breathing room. Sometimes it means sitting with a senior who could use some company, helping someone find a resource when they don’t know where to begin, creating a meaningful gift for a person walking through grief, or simply reminding someone that they were thought of today.
I can’t carry Michelle’s life forward for her, but I can carry forward some of what she gave so freely – kindness, generosity, showing up, and helping when someone needs it. That spirit is woven into Whispers & Wings.
This business may have begun with 52 sunsets and the loss of someone I loved deeply, but it has grown into something rooted in the way I have tried to live for many years: notice people, help where you can, lighten the load, create meaningful moments, and never overlook the small things that can mean everything to someone else.
That is the heart behind Whispers & Wings, and it is the legacy I hope to continue.
