Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Owen
Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Over forty years ago when I was contemplating my career choices as a high school graduate, I couldn’t help but to default to the two things that interested me the most. Art (creativity) and senior citizens (social). Being 18, I opted for the art field, envisioning being an art director for some big agency somewhere. So, I got my degree in Commercial Art and started down my path to the printing and production end of the graphic design field.
I worked for over three decades in Commercial Art. First for a private printing company, then a renowned design firm, a corporate design department and then after having two children, for myself via freelance that I could do staying at home to raise my young kids. All during this time I was feeding my other passion for serving senior citizens by volunteering doing twice weekly visits to a local nursing home to do manicures for the ladies there. Those were really much less about the manicure as it was the visit, the hand holding and conversation with the seniors.
Having spent 5 years out of the design “industry” while raising my children to school age, I developed a third passion which was just one more way to feed my creativity. I learned to make beautiful cakes. While my toddler children were in a Mother’s Day Out program, I was taking classes in cake decorating. My second business grew from my making cakes for all of my friends for their kid’s birthdays and it became an actual business making cakes for other people I didn’t know. My freelance graphic design and custom cakes were all done under my business name Hands On Design. After a divorce that left me a single mom of two young kids, I decided it was time to re-invent myself and I opened a storefront bakery.
A storefront bakery is not for the faint of heart. It’s 100 hours per week of managing, cleaning, baking, decorating, learning how to do payroll and file sales taxes, ordering supplies, etc. on top of being the mom to those two kids I adored. This notch in the timeline took four years and when my lease ended, I chalked it up to a lot of great experience and resumed making cakes from home. It was exhausting but was a good life experience not only for me, but for my two elementary aged children. It was also a huge relief to be able to again work from home again and to be there for my kids going into middle school and high school when they are making more important choices for themselves.
Fast forward a few more years. A second marriage which initiated a disastrous turn in my life. My then-teenage children and I become estranged, and the marriage lasted only a year due to my grief of losing my children that I raised (we labeled ourselves “The Three Musketeers”). Through what seemed like a total loss over those who meant so much to me, I was left with my puppy, Bella, an English Bulldog that I got to fill some of the void of being a parent that missed her children desperately.
It only took a few months to decide that Bella needed a friend, and my rescue journey begins. Bertha joined my home and she was a senior dog with cancer that once belonged to an older gentleman that was now living in the Samaritan Inn homeless shelter, and she needed a place to go. She became my personal comfort dog, and we soothed each other through our pain. Then I was contacted by someone who needed to rehome their English Bulldog that was given to him by someone after a string of owners before. Thor, also a senior dog, came to us and then there were three.
This is when my luck changed and I was given the opportunity to work at the Wellness Center for Older Adults (WCOA). I was tired of working for myself and doing cakes. I needed a change, a purpose, an outlet for my love that had nowhere to go–something else to rescue ME from a life that was pretty isolated. I joined the team at WCOA as the office manager and I was able to again revel in my passion for serving seniors and community. My coworkers have become like family, the clients are grateful and appreciative, the services we provide are so needed and every day I usually leave the office feeling proud. Like I did something good and real which goes a long way for one’s mental health. I’ve since become the program coordinator for our Project Independence which provides assistance and transportation for seniors who have recently had a major health decline, or an inpatient hospitalization. I’ve also been able to work my way to become the committee chair for the McKinney Chamber of Commerce Senior Service Alliance. Again, a gathering of amazing people with the hearts to serve our community, most notably seniors.
And the dog rescue continued. Since 2016 I have rescued 11 dogs, most of which are English Bulldogs, but I’ve also thrown in a Boxer, a Pitbull and a Cane Corso. It has become my terciary career. I have rescued them from individuals, other rescue groups, even the Dallas Animal Services that bring in strays and surrenders from unfathomable circumstances. I pay for this rescue effort with all the profits I make from continuing to make custom cakes as my “side gig”. I have gone through the loss of five of those beloved animals over the years, but in my heart, I know they had their very best life living in my home, and someday we will meet again. They have and still do serve me as extra children who will always love me unconditionally.
I now finally have a relationship again with my daughter and my heart is half healed. I hope to someday again have my son back in my life. The dogs will forever be in my life for the time that I am given with each of them. Some come with health issues that I can attempt to make better, but it may always be a battle for that particular pup. All I can do is give them the best life I can – certainly better than the life they had before. And the rescue dogs rescue me right back.
Having a job that you truly get so much from, loving the work you do, having things in your life that bring you fulfillment and a sense of greater good is a pretty great way to live. I can only be thankful for all the good things in my life and even the bumps that have led me to the good things. There are always people and causes that need our effort. Be one that supports them!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Everyone has struggles in life. Some small, some that seem bigger than mountains. Somehow we pick ourselves up. I’ve gone through two divorces, with high levels of sadness and betrayal. I’ve experienced parental alienation during those years and missed over seven years of my children’s lives including graduations, birthdays, first apartments, etc. Both of my parents had passed away before I was 47. My mother was a schoolteacher, and my father was a Presbyterian minister, both of whom gave me a great starting point to a life that is made richer by serving others.
Living through great loss can either destroy you or make you stronger. In this particular case, I used my grief and isolation to make the world better through what I can do for others, whether it be human or canine. I rarely have a day in which I don’t feel satisfied that someone’s life is a bit easier in part due to my actions. That has helped to heal me and help me to change my overall life outlook.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I cannot choose one of those categories only. My life is so full because of so many things. Serving seniors and dogs in need of rescue have saved me from depression, isolation and anxiety. The creative outlet of continuing to create cakes to help with others (sometimes complete strangers) celebrate a life event also brings me joy. I feel so fortunate to have curated the things in life that bring me joy and be able to practice those things on a daily basis. I’m proud that I have been able to make positive changes in my life that pulled me back from the brink.
From being in the cake business for over 20 years now, many people have labeled me “the cake lady”. Then there is a whole other group that will label me “the dog lady”. My clients whom I serve through the Wellness Center for Older Adults just know me as “Michelle – the one with the pink hair”. After making the very impulsive decision to “go pink”, it’s just one more thing I am proud that makes me unique. Strangers will stop and tell me they love the color of my hair. I never had someone say that when it was plain brown. LOL.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The most notable changes I’ve seen since the COVID pandemic is that as a society we are more polarized. Not just politically, but emotionally, and socially. Some still think that everyone owes them something, while others are much more willing to help others. An example might be…..Some would view a vaccine or wearing a mask as a “loss of personal freedom” while at the same time another might view it as a way to keep the community safe. Hopefully parents have learned not to take their child’s teachers for granted. And I hope that we appreciate even more those in the healthcare industry who struggled to provide for the millions who suffered from COVID.
I’m afraid that some of the changes in our ways of life may stay permanently, but hopefully appreciation for those that serve can be the one positive thing that comes from those awful years in 2020-2021.
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