When Kimberli, Owner and CEO of So Salsa, LLC, lost her husband to a heart attack at 34, she had a 2 -year-old, a 7-month-old, and a life that no longer looked like the one they had planned together. He was her first love, a devoted father, and in a single day, he was gone.

That was eleven years ago.

Today, she is a single mother of two thriving kids — smart, athletic, kind — raised on the memory of a father they barely got to know, kept alive through pictures, videos, and the stories she refuses to stop telling. She has forged a life with her mother beside her, juggling work, an attempt at going back to school, and a small salsa business that has blossomed.

This is a story about what it means to be the provider AND the safety. To carry grief while carrying a household. To feel anxious about raising good kids in a world that often feels like chaos — and to do it anyway, with a home that is the opposite of that chaos.

This is a story about what happens when you have one good parent.

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Because the answer, it turns out, is quite a lot.

A note for listeners This episode includes candid discussion of the sudden loss of a spouse and the grief that follows. If it resonates with something you're carrying, please be gentle with yourself as you listen and consider reaching out to someone you trust.