I’m a, let’s just say I remember landlines, mixtapes, and when gas was under a dollar —year old woman.  A woman not shaped just by what I’ve endured, but by what I’ve chosen to become. I'm a proud Cincinnatian and found the true essence lives in the ones who call it home.  These folks show up for each one another—uniquely and consistently.

 

My journey began with hardship.  Both my parents very young and didn't have much.  My mother barely 18 years old and my dad just turned 23 struggled with raising three children but we all survived.  They divorced a few years later.  I learned too early what it meant to survive. I started working at 14, at 17 I found myself alone, paid my own way, and graduated high school while living on my own. Life didn’t give me a blueprint—so I built my own.

 

While that kind of survival gave me strength, it also came with a heavy price. I spent years learning to depend on no one but me. It was a blessing in some ways—but also a curse. It made me bitter. Angry. Closed off.

 

I’m not shy about my missteps. I own them.  I’m a mom of two, and while it's not always easy — my God...it’s worth it!  That role...Mom — means the most to me, no doubt.  Becoming a young mom, and eventually a single mom, changed me. It taught me that nothing—absolutely nothing—is more important than love. Not status. Not money. Just love.  Love taught me what pain could not: that giving, forgiving, and showing up for others is what life is all about.

 

When I lost my son in 2021, life shattered me in unimaginable ways. The world shifted beneath my feet. That kind of grief took me down to my knees...and for a while, I couldn’t get up. Sometimes I still find myself there—even now.  Today, I live wide open—loving hard, laughing louder, and toss kindness around like confetti. Because no amount of money could ever measure up to the power of loving and being loved. I made a promise to myself: I won’t waste another minute not loving. Not spreading kindness. Not being who I know I’m meant to be.

 

Money will never make me. Loving and being loved? That’s where I live. That’s where I thrive. That’s who I am.

 

My hope? That when I’m gone, people won’t talk about what I had...but who I was. Remembering how I made them feel. And they’ll say, “My God… her heart though.”

 

I love traveling, making memories, and bringing as many people as possible — whenever I can. That’s what led me to this...a business rooted in joy, connection, and the beautiful mess of life. That spirit...that heart...created and gave life to — Ivory Mist.

 

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When I first started writing this About Me page, it kind of gave me the ick. But as the words came together—yup, there it was. My story, my strength, my heart...woven with honesty, resilience, and my purpose.

 

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Denise Miller