From Survival Mode to Sanity Sanctuary: Why I Created Life Systems

Let me paint the picture.

Back in February of 2020, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. I was his part-time caregiver at the time because I was still working my 9-5. Then came the shutdown of the pandemic.

There were times where I had him in the front seat taking him to his chemo appointment, and my daughter in the backseat doing distance learning on her tablet—and again, I still needed to do my job.

Fast forward to June of 2021, my dad's health took a turn, and I needed to go on leave to become his primary caregiver.

Things were going so fast to the point where I didn't realize I had exhausted all of my paid family leave. So, I reached out to my HR and was just like, “Hey, my father still needs me. I need to request a layoff.”

They had the audacity to ask me:

“How much more time do you need?”

It’s like, what? I don’t know.

Of course, I’m like, I don’t know how much time I have left with my father.

And if you're having the same reaction that I had at the time, then you're on par with my story. It’s like—what the fuck?

I go back and forth with HR. Eventually, they backed me into a corner of resigning. And so I resigned, which was, given everything going on at the time, a blessing in disguise.

Fortunately, but unfortunately, in October of 2021, I had to say goodbye to my father. But I’m very grateful that he’s no longer suffering.

Then things took another turn…

Now it’s November of 2021—the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

I started to get these random symptoms for a 10-day stretch. The following weekend, my husband and I were in Las Vegas for one of his softball tournaments. I’m trying to drive him to his first game on a Sunday...

I remember it still to this day.

Next thing I know, I have these black floating spots in my left eye. And of course, my first reaction is:

"How much did I drink last night?"

Because you know—when in Vegas, you have a good time, right?

But it started to get worse. So I reached out to my ophthalmologist.

During the appointment, I explained everything going on, and she was super transparent with me:

“Okay, I’m ordering you an MRI. Because it sounds like you have an early onset of multiple sclerosis.”

It’s like—wait, what?!

Of course, I go home and do what none of us should do unless we're a medical professional: Doctor Google.

“What is multiple sclerosis?”

I get the MRI.

And then I get the call.

My ophthalmologist tells me:

“Yep. You have small lesions and swelling in your brain. It looks like you do have multiple sclerosis. I’m going to refer you to a neurologist for the official diagnosis.”

After that call, I immediately cry in my husband’s arms. Then I pull back and say:

“Wait... this is why I’m batshit crazy.”

Because you gotta find the humor in life’s craziness, right?

So, what now?

That started my journey.

In January of 2022, I was officially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.Then February hits...

I’m sitting in my chair, staring off like:

"What do I do with myself?"

I don’t have to take care of my dad anymore.

I don’t have a job.

What. Do. I. Do.

So I start thinking. I get back into Facebook groups. I hop back on Instagram. Just trying to pay attention to the online space.

That’s when I discovered things like becoming a virtual assistant, an online business manager—so many paths I hadn’t seen before.

And then it hit me.

I thought about caring for my dad.

I thought about my sales background, my admin background.

While I was taking care of him, I was detailed. Tracking symptoms, meds, appointments, changes—anything that would help my cousin or family members when they stepped in to help.

But I realized I had that info all over the place.

Memo notes. Post-its. Scattered.

As I sat in that chair, I thought back to those moments and thought:

There may be something with this.

There may be something I can do to help other women like me—Moms. Doers of all the things. Women craving calm in life’s beautiful bitchiness.

And that’s when Life Systems was born.

What Life Systems actually are...

It is not a productivity hack.It’s systems that help you with your day-to-day life.

So think of those moments when you’re like: “I want a girl’s night. I want date night. I just want me time.”

And you want someone to watch your child.

You want them to follow your care plan.

Life Systems help you create a Peace of Mind Childcare Plan—the dos, the don’ts, the meds, the device schedule, the allergies, the food preferences—so that whoever is stepping in has everything they need.

Or maybe it’s someone stepping in to care for a loved one like I did for my dad. Or maybe you’re the primary caregiver and need a system to make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle.

These systems exist...

...to help you find your version of a balanced life.

Not someone else’s. Not society’s.

Yours.

I want to know your challenges.

I want to know your goals.

Let’s find a system that works for you.

What it looks like for me...

I created a Household Harmony System—and now?

I’m not the doer of all things anymore.

I’m learning to put myself first.

My daughter helps with chores.

My husband helps more than I ever allowed him to before.We’re all on the same page.

Everyone knows what to do.

And that’s just the beginning.

You can build systems for:

• Self-care

• Exercise

• Creativity

• And more

Life Systems can truly help you go from survival mode to a Sanity Sanctuary kind of plan.

Here’s What I’ve Learned...

After 3 years on this journey:

🧡 You don’t need to do more.

🧡 You just need to do different.

🧡 Your routine isn’t broken.

🧡 Your system just needs to work for you.

Life Systems are just the routines and habits you already have—but tweaked to fit your current season.

Keeping it flexible so you can flow with whatever life throws your way.