Welcome to Joy Realm

No one can prepare you for it, though they will try.

My pregnancy was relatively easy—if “easy” is a word that can be used for pregnancy at all. My body, which I had always used for running, cartwheeling, hiking, yoga-ing, skateboarding, and other such physical endeavors, became host to a tiny, opinionated girl sometime in early May of 2024.

I wanted to take pineapple with me everywhere I went. I made snack boxes filled with cheese cubes, nuts, and fruit and carried them to work, but they were never enough. I craved chocolate, which wasn’t unusual for me—if anything, pregnancy simply ramped up the snacking habits I already had.

I was 38 years old the first time I experienced pregnancy, and I was completely shocked. I got pregnant easily, quickly. Before the positive line appeared on the store-bought pregnancy tests (I took four), I assumed it would be difficult. My doctor told me to give it six months, and I was already looking ahead to the conversation about IVF—one I wasn’t sure I wanted to have.

It took three months.

My body changed instantly. I’m not sure anyone outside myself could see it, but I felt the shift from the very beginning: I was no longer the only driver. I had a copilot, and she was demanding.

I was nauseated, exhausted, and hungrier than a pack of wolves. I wanted to be taken care of. For a 38-year-old woman who had always taken care of herself, this was…weird.

My perspective began to flip. A new layer surfaced: Is this good for her? Is she safe? No decision was made without thinking of her. This came a little easier to me, as I had already become a parent about a year earlier—a stepparent to three beautiful human beings.

So here I am: a novelist, almost 40, starting a blog for mothers—but not just any mothers. This is for those of us who started late, showed up half-dressed, and feel like we got hit by a train. It’s for the ones who still have dreams to chase, imaginations that wander freely, and a deep love for everyday magic.

This is where motherhood, childhood, and wonder are woven together.

This is Joy Realm.