Welcome to the Conservatory
This is where everything is tender — but alive.
The light here is soft. The air smells like new beginnings and second chances. There’s greenery everywhere — some things just planted, others beginning to bloom. You’ll hear birds, wind through leaves, and sometimes the sound of someone exhaling deeply, as if letting themselves soften for the first time in a while. In this room, no one rushes you.
No one asks you to be “further along.”
"Pick your battles. Be patient and let the kids lead. Focus on your romantic relationship." Good advice, right? That’s what I thought, too.
I was a very good stepfamily counselor. My intuition was razor-sharp, my nursing background gave me an edge. I've taught many thousands of people how to find peace in chaos. And my clients? They were getting the results they came to me for: proposals, in-vitro, dream homes, vacations..
But deep down, I knew something was wrong.
Because how do you NOT take something personally when you know it is personal?
How do you pick your battles when your entire life has become centred around one?
If you let the kids lead, then who's being the adult?
And how do you find pleasure focusing on your relationship when drama and logistics have replaced foreplay and ease?
Stepfamilies don't fail at a rate of 67% because people aren't trying hard enough, or because people don't love each other enough.
I knew my clients deserved better than a lifetime of having to pretend something wasn't bothering them when it clearly was.
I knew my clients deserved better than just coping skills or validation.
I knew my clients deserved better than "good enough."
They deserved the thing they came to me for in the first place:
To be understood.
To be seen.
To be heard.
To be honest.
To be themselves in their own home.
And that's when it hit me...
I've spent years helping stepmoms and their stepfamilies to peacefully navigate the chaos of blending.
But finding peace in the chaos is only one step in the process...
Stepfamily challenges aren’t random. Not even close.
They follow predictable cycles, a lot like the four seasons... each with its own features, patterns, and outcomes.
And just like I'd never roll up in a bikini in the middle of winter and try to cope with getting frostbite, I also shouldn't show up in the Winter Season of my stepfamily and try to patiently cope with the dysfunction of it... WOMP WOMP.
And that's how Stepfamilies In Bloom was born.
This is not another generic "stay in your lane" prescription to remind you (in case you forgot) that your family is different...
It's about learning the natural seasons of stepfamily life—so you can make the right moves at the right time, with confidence.
It will change your life, if you let it.