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Hey, there!
I’m Cole. I’m a wife, mom, Registered Dietitian, yoga instructor, and entrepreneur. Like most of us, I wear a lot of hats. After years of moving around the Midwest for my husband’s medical training, we settled in Eau Claire about 6 years ago and have loved making this place our home. Like so many, the story of who I am is anchored in family, Midwestern values, and a pull to continuously evolve myself. When it comes to the 5 Fs, there is one that is a bit of a sticking point for me — but we’ll get to that.
Faith
Raised Catholic, I attended Catholic school in Rochester, MN. While that tradition remains important to me and is a big part of my faith practice, I’ve had the great privilege of studying and experiencing other faith traditions that have so vividly expanded my faith. These experiences have also shown me that the differences between faith traditions are quite small if you remove the cultural context. Love, light, mercy, gratitude – they are all there.
Over the course of my life, I’ve had several powerful and intense experiences with the Holy Spirit – like a fire inside my heart. Without question, I use that connection as a compass. The guidance of that force has been a pillar of strength and resilience in my toughest times and one of pure joy and gratitude in the good times.
Family
Family is absolutely the alpha and omega for me – the beginning and the end of all things. I feel so lucky to have found my husband John. He is the most kind and intelligent person I’ve ever known. Raising kids with him is a dream come true. Our three children are interesting, dynamic, and so very themselves. My most sincere hope as a mother is to give our children a loving and nurturing place to unfold into the best version of themselves. While motherhood isn’t always easy, I commit to showing up fully and letting go of my expectations around who and what they should be.
Truth be told, it isn’t just my family that I love with such totality. My love of family extends far beyond our walls, which is exactly why my brother and I started Total Potential – an online family wellness resource. Our firm belief is that when families can understand and utilize the concepts of mastery and wellness, they create a culture of wellness that allows every person in the family to thrive and have the capacity to do good work in the world.
Friends
As much as I treasure family, the friendships that I have brought with me throughout my life, and continue to develop, bring great joy. Between high school, college, and the various places we have lived, my friends are often far away, which is why I’m so grateful for technology that can keep us together, help us communicate regularly, and see each other’s lives and families grow.
I’ve also been fortunate to meet wonderful friends since moving to Eau Claire. I can only speak for myself, but having friends who are also moms has been such a blessing – we learn from each other, support one another, and have a good laugh. It is challenging to consistently carve out time to spend with friends when family life is busy, but when the opportunities do present themselves, I’m sure to embrace time with friends.
Fitness
The sweet spot. My background is 100% in fitness and nutrition, and the interplay of those as the foundation of all other wellness is really where my heart sits. As a high school athlete, I was able to learn how strength and stamina felt in my body. In college, I started teaching water fitness classes, earned degrees in Dietetics and Exercise Science, and began embracing new fitness opportunities such as weight lifting. In my career as a Registered Dietitian, I loved helping individuals and families learn how to use food for wellness. Now, as a yoga instructor (I’m at Prajna Tuesdays at 9:30am), I love sharing a movement practice that has really informed every area of my life.
Despite having great interest and understanding of fitness and nutrition, it isn’t always easy for me to follow my own advice. When injuries and time constraints came my way in early adulthood, I adapted quickly. But when motherhood rolled around, that was a different game. It took me a few years to settle into a routine that actually worked for me in real-life. But now, daily movement is non-negotiable for me.
Finance
Ah, we have come to the “F” that is a bit tricky for me! I read many, many years ago in Life’s Little Instruction Book (yes, in 7th grade I read all three volumes cover to cover and highlighted the ones I thought were most important!) that one should never talk about money with anyone who has more or less of it than you – which is everyone! But what I can say is that our family’s priorities are as follows: 1) daily necessities, 2) future planning (college, retirement), 3) giving, and 4) adventure.
Outside of local development and organizations, I love to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (they are knocking on the door of a cure for CF which is groundbreaking and life-changing for the 30,000 people living in this country with the disease). I also have a heart for the Courage Foundation, which supports military veterans suffering from PTSD with an 18-month-long integration training program.
These big 5 – faith, family, friends, fitness, and finance – are the daily balancing act that, for me, is motherhood. If any one of these areas were suffering, the other areas would begin to feel off balance, as well. I guess that’s why Dr. Seuss said “step with care and great tact and know that life is a great balancing act.”
