Rappelling Into the Life I’m Choosing

On Friday, I did something I never imagined I’d do: I rappelled off the DoubleTree Hotel on Westheimer near the Galleria. Twenty-six stories. 9,000 feet of rope. And there I was — hanging off the side of the platform, suspended in midair, heart pounding, eyes wide open.

Photo Credits: The United Way of Greater Houston

The idea first came to me on Monday, November 10, as I was getting ready for book club after work. I’d already asked several people at the Houston Chronicle, and every one of them said, “No thank you.” My publisher, Nancy, had asked me to find a second person to join her. We were able to do this as part of our support of the United Way of Greater Houston. I serve as the Hearst Gives Back Champion for the Chronicle — who better than me to go down with our publisher, to show up for the United Way’s incredible work and to stand in solidarity with our community?

Yes, that's me coming down 26 stories,

If I'm being honest I also did it for myself. I've written about having an epiphany that I was on the cusp of something amazing. In that post I said this: So back to the epiphany. It was this. "You know how we all say, “Oh if I could only go back to this certain age knowing what I know now?” For me it would be the age of 23, right after I graduated from college and starting my career. I may not be 23 years old, with that youthful look and good health, but I am about to be in a very similar situation when the kids are both adults. Except this time, I have 51 years of life experience under my belt. Along with the experience, I’m also going in with a much more realistic expectation than I would have had at 23. At 23 I thought I had all the time in the world. I know now that time is fleeting."

I wrote this four years ago and Seth is now halfway through his senior year in college and Miranda will be in graduate school for another year and a half. So much has happened since I had that epiphany and I've had to readjust my timeline and my expectations a couple of times. But I think about it often and I am really feeling it now more than ever as I get closer to letting them take flight into adulthood.

Finding my center before going over the edge. 

I felt like this action of rappelling off the building was part of me being on the cusp of something amazing in my life. Like I was launching myself towards new possibilities and like I have very few obstacles in my way. 

I wrote this on my LinkedIn post about the experience. Lowering myself down the side of a 26-story building wasn’t just exhilarating—it was transformative. That moment on the edge, when I had to lean back and trust myself, the rope, the lever, and the expert team from Over the Edge was the most terrifying part. But it was also symbolic: the beginning of a new chapter grounded in courage, clarity, and intention.

The day before I rappelled, I meditated on what I wanted for it to represent. It was symbolic of me entering a new phase of my life, of working towards partial retirement, hopefully doing something new and exciting and in general doing the things that bring me joy. I want to be more mindful of what I put into my body. I want to exercise more. I want to write like it's my part-time job. I want to do the things that will set me up to have a life that I've dreamed about. 

So, I'll end this like I ended that post in 2021. I’m excited to see what comes next because I feel like I am on the cusp of something amazing.