Call it a Taylor and Travis, Stephanie and Alex love story, a fearless seasons-of-love whirlwind, a bit reckless with a mama’s heart.

Last month I danced down the golden brick road, proving that sometimes life can be stranger than fiction. This month? I’ve traded ABBA for Taylor Swift—because while Taylor and Travis got engaged, I started thinking about my own fearless seasons of love.

On Trend and Stuck There

I’ve been following Taylor even when I don’t mean to: first concert tickets, then hours in merch lines (four…maybe five?), the Eras outfits, and now this: my own Ortiz Eras Tour.

I know, classic me: old-school Taylor at heart. With Songs of a Show Girl dropping October 3, you’d think I’d have moved on. But here I am, happily stuck in the Eras Tour where my girls still stand beside me.

Typical mom move: on trend enough to chat about Taylor and Travis, but not quite keeping up.

Back then, the girls picked our looks. Alexandra chose Fearless in gold, Skylar wore Red, and I went electric-blue Midnights. None of us knew those choices would shape this month’s posts: Fearless today, Red next week, and Midnights for September’s trilogy.

Seasons of Change (and Senior Years)

Here I’m stuck in the past while September whirls on. Change is in the air, what once meant back-to-school now feels like a brand-new life sentence: senior years in both high school and college for my girls. Where will all this take us?

But, one thing still holds true: what we teach the girls: Live it up. Be bold. Follow your heart. You only live once.

That’s what love asks of us—to risk, to leap, to be fearless.

Maybe those pep talks aren’t just for our seniors. How about I have what they’re having? Care to take a walk down memory lane with me?

Taking That First Leap

Choosing Alex was exhilarating and terrifying. We’d just met on July 25, 1997. By Labor Day weekend, he was at the U.S. Open with his longtime girlfriend. I could have moped. Instead, I headed to Main—driving solo in my baby car, hoping distance would quiet the heart that already knew: Alex was it.

Meanwhile, Alex was soul-searching, torn between the comfort of what he knew and the wild possibility we represented. The ball was going back and forth, and someone was bound to get hurt. Yet I sensed something bigger—call it God, fate, or a wink from the skies where we’d met on that plane.

A month later, Alex chose me. And a year later, on September 19, 1998, we promised forever.

Small Dip, Big Story

We didn’t stop at vows. We learned to dance (no banana hands!), planned a three-part medley, and closed with a dramatic dip. For years we bragged about how epic it was—until we watched the digitized wedding video and burst out laughing. The “brave” dip? Blink and you’d miss it.

But that’s the lesson of love: moments that once felt daring can shrink in hindsight. Love has a way of making what one seemed so scary feel small. Really—we were worried about that?

Fearless Then, Fearless Now

That’s the bravery love teaches—strength, hope, joy. And if our own love story doesn’t convince you, there’s always Taylor and Travis to prove that the leap is the love.

Maybe you’re facing a new season—an empty nest, a late-career pivot, or a love you never saw coming. The leap might look different, but the call is the same: be fearless.

Looking back, every daring step—the biggest decisions and even the wedding dip that once felt like movie stunt—has become part of our favorite story.

Call it a Taylor and Travis, Stephanie and Alex Love Story—whirlwind, fearless, and maybe not so reckless after all. But always worth the risk.