Freedom Day: A $300 Investment, a Daddy's Love & a Dream I'm Still Chasing

November 6th will always be more than just another day on the calendar for me.

Today is November 6th and if you know me personally, you may know that this day has a very special meaning in my family.

We call it Freedom Day. On November 6, 2009, my dad walked out of federal prison.

It was a day we had counted down to. A day we had dreamed about. A day that, for so long, felt like it couldn't come soon enough. And today, 17 years later, I'm sitting here thinking about him, missing him terribly, and reflecting on just how much that day—and everything leading up to it—shaped the person I am today.

The Day We Got Dad Back

I can still remember the tiniest of details. When my dad was released from prison he was in Butner, North Carolina. His friends arranged for a limo to pick him up and take him to the airport. Inside was a bag with a wallet, money, a phone, boots and a fresh change of clothes.

Can you imagine? After spending 21 years 3 months and 3 days (to be exact) behind bars, having a driver waiting for you with those simple things.

Things most of us take for granted. I can just picture him beaming from ear to ear. And then there was us. My dad' Oklahoma family and his Texas family. We were all waiting at the airport, ready to welcome him home... I was running late of course, making a mad dash through the airport alongside my cousin, Angie.

We couldn't get there fast enough.

I remembered seeing him for the first time and being enamored at him wearing normal clothes and not the tan jumpsuit I was accustomed to. The feeling of that first hug can't be explained or adequately put into words but I had not experienced a hug from my dad on the outside of prison walls since I was 5 years old.

After we left the airport, the party shifted to my uncle's house. Just family, friends, food, drinks and the overwhelming happiness of having him home.

We stayed up talking until the wee hours of the morning, there was so much forgiveness and healing that happened between the two of us that night. I will never forget it.

And I remember falling asleep on my dad's chest. Even writing that brings tears to my eyes. Because now, all these years later, I would give just about anything to have another night like that. Another conversation. Another hug. Another Freedom Day together.

Freedom Has Always Meant Something Different to Us

After Dad came home, November 6th became a day we celebrated every year. Not necessarily with anything big or expensive.

It was more about remembering. Remembering where we had been, what we had overcome, and what it felt like to finally have the freedom to simply be together. My dad and I would talk about freedom often. Time freedom. Financial freedom. The ability to make choices about how we spent our days and what we did with our lives.

We knew that having a lot of money didn't automatically mean having freedom and we also knew that you didn't necessarily need a lot of money to experience it.

Sometimes freedom is being able to sit with the people you love without watching the clock.
Sometimes it's having enough to pay your bills without constantly worrying.
Sometimes it's having the flexibility to show up for your children, take care of your family, or pursue something you're passionate about.
And sometimes it's as simple as being able to walk out the front door and decide where you want to go.

My dad understood that in a way most people never will.

What My Mom Taught Me About Survival

But there's another side of this story. While my dad was incarcerated, my mom was doing everything she could to keep us going. She was a single mom carrying the financial responsibility without help or child support.

She worked three jobs, all the way until I graduated high school. Three.

If anyone taught me about multiple streams of income before that was ever a trendy phrase in the online business world, it was my mom.

She didn't have multiple jobs because she was trying to build some glamorous lifestyle.
She did it because she had to.
She worked hard. She sacrificed. She figured things out.

And while I am so grateful for everything she did to provide for us, I also know there was a lot she missed because she was working.

That's something I've carried with me into motherhood. I want to contribute financially to my family. I want to help relieve some of the pressure on my husband. I want us to be comfortable and not constantly feel the weight of financial stress.

But I also want to be here. I want to be present for my kids. I want to have the flexibility to show up for the moments that matter and I want to build something that allows me to do both.

The $300 Investment That Changed My Direction

Six years ago, my dad made an investment in me. He didn't have a lot of extra money. He lived on a modest, retired, social security budget. But he spent $300 to help me purchase a domain, set up my website, and buy a course so I could start figuring out what I wanted to do alongside being a stay-at-home mom.

At the time, I had a completely different vision for my business. After struggling with infertility for two and a half years and eventually finding success through natural approaches, I wanted to help other women navigate that same difficult journey.

I knew what it felt like to want something so badly and not know if it would ever happen. I wanted to use my experience to encourage and support other women.

So I started learning. I built my website. I worked on creating my own brand online. I made a financial decision to invest in an Integrative Fertility Health Coaching certification… a program I never finished and I went on to earn a life coaching certification.

And somewhere along the way, something unexpected happened.

Other women started coming to me asking for help with their websites. They wanted to know how I was creating things, setting up pages, and building my own little home on the internet.

And I realized I genuinely enjoyed helping them do it.

One project led to another.

And for the last three years, I've been bringing income into our home by helping other women build and improve their own online presence. All because I was willing to start somewhere... and because my dad believed in me enough to help me get started.

The Dream Has Evolved, but the WHY Hasn't

Today, I design websites and help women simplify the technology behind their businesses.

I help them connect the pieces, organize their ideas, create a place to share what they do, and actually use the tools they're paying for.
I love the work.
I love seeing a client go from overwhelmed and stuck to excited and confident about what she's creating.

But there's only so much time in a day and there's only so many one-on-one clients I can take on at once.

Which brings me to this next chapter. I'm stepping into creating digital offers of my own. The very thing I've encouraged so many of my clients to do.

Because I see the possibilities.

What if you could take something you've learned, a skill you've developed, or an experience you've walked through and turn it into a resource that helps someone else?
What if you could create it once and continue sharing it with people who need it?
What if that resource could generate income beyond the hours you're physically sitting at your computer?

Of course, creating digital products doesn't mean income magically appears. There's still work involved in creating, sharing, improving, and supporting what you offer. But the possibility of creating something that can serve more people without requiring another one-on-one appointment?

That's pretty rad to me.

It's why I'm working on my own digital guide, Simplify Your Stack: From Start to Sell.

I'm taking what I've learned over the years and creating a resource to help other women turn their ideas into something they can actually share and sell online. And I'm learning through the process, too.

Why I'm Climbing Cringe Mountain

If you've noticed me showing up more on social media lately, making videos, sharing behind-the-scenes moments, and talking more about what I'm building, now you know a little more about why.

I'm climbing what I affectionately call Cringe Mountain.
I'm getting more comfortable being uncomfortable.
I'm learning to show up intentionally, even when it feels awkward.

Because social media has always been a place where I've connected with people from different seasons of my life. Old friends. Family. People I've worked with. Women I've met through business, various communities and organizations. People who have been following along for years.

But I'm also learning to use it as a place to share, relate, educate, encourage, and help.

I don't want to create content just for the sake of creating content.
I want it to mean something.
I want the things I'm learning and the experiences I've had to be useful to someone else.

And I want to show my children that you can keep learning, changing directions, trying new things, and chasing a dream at any stage of life.

Even if you have to figure it out as you go.

I Wish I Could Tell My Dad About All of This

Today is one of those days when I know my dad and I would have talked. One hundred percent.

We would have talked about Freedom Day, probably reminisced about that day in 2009, and talked about what I was working on. I would have told him about my clients, the websites I've built, and this new digital offer I'm creating.

I think he would be so proud. Actually, I KNOW he would and he would be edifying me so hard.

Not just because I'm finding ways to earn an income from home. But because I'm doing it while raising my children, being present for my family, and continuing to work toward the kind of freedom we used to talk about.

And I think about my mom, too. I think about how hard she worked to give us what we needed. How much she sacrificed. And how those experiences shaped what I want for my own family.

I'm not chasing some extravagant lifestyle. I'm chasing a life where we have breathing room...

Where I can contribute financially without missing every important moment.
Where my husband doesn't have to carry so much pressure.
Where we can enjoy the life we're building instead of always feeling like we're trying to catch up.
Where we have choices. Where we can travel. And where the work I do can genuinely make a difference for someone else.

Freedom Day, 17 Years Later

Sadly, today my dad isn't here to celebrate with me anymore. Now he sits on my mantle.

And there are days when that reality hits harder than others. Today is one of them. I miss him so much. I miss his voice. I miss our conversations. I miss being able to tell him what I'm working on and hear what he thinks. I miss having him pray over me. I miss his laugh and hearing him tell me how much he loves me.

But I still carry those conversations with me.

I carry that $300 investment with me. It gives me the confidence and courage to keep going. And I carry the memory of that night in 2009, falling asleep on his chest after finally getting him home.

Seventeen years later, Freedom Day is still teaching me something. Freedom isn't just about money.

It's about time. It's about family. It's about choices. It's about having the opportunity to build a life that matters to you and sometimes, it's about having someone believe in you before you've figured out exactly what you're capable of.

So today, I'm remembering my dad.

I'm honoring my mom.

And I'm reminding myself WHY I started.

I'll never stop chasing the dream of doing better, being better, and providing better for my family.

I hope I continue to make them both proud.

Happy Freedom Day, Dad. I love you.

I miss you more than words can say.

And thank you for believing in me.

That $300 meant more than you could have ever imagined.

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER:

I’m a proud affiliate for some of these tools and products that are suggested on this page and throughout my site. Meaning if you click on a product and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. My recommendations are based on knowledge and experience and I recommend them because they are genuinely useful and helpful, not because of the small commission that I may receive.