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📘 SHEEN ClichĂ©s ’Til My 40’s

Chapters 1–3 (Full Readable Manuscript)

By Sheena L. Dance Mulholland, MBA

CHAPTER 1 — Present Day

December 2025

It’s late — the kind of late where everyone else is asleep, the house is quiet, and my brain refuses to cooperate. I’ve got a big training in the morning, the holidays are creeping up way too fast, and my mind is spiraling through the endless list of everything: parties, travel, Christmas gifts, timing, scheduling, energy, responsibilities.

All. The. Things.

So instead of watching yet another forgettable Netflix series that feels suspiciously similar to last year’s forgettable Netflix series
 I figured, why not do something at least semi productive?

So here it is.

I’m 42 — a white, single woman with no kids and a puppy who’ll be nine this winter. I live in the North End of Boise and have been here since “Snowmageddon” in 2016. Nearly a decade later and


Wow, how time flies.

Cliché #1.

Growing up these past 40+ years, figuring out who I am, who I want to be, and where I’m heading has always been tied to this internal drive I could never shake. A very Type-A, go-go-go energy.

And yes — when they say “time flies,” it’s true.

The older we get, the faster days seem to shrink. And here I am, nearly half a century old, reflecting on my wins, losses, “learning experiences,” and all the messy, meaningful pieces in between.

Which brings me to another cliché:

Cliché #2: the mid-life crisis.

Yep. Confirmed. The struggle is real at 42. But honestly? It’s also funny. Entering a decade where stretching counts as a warm-up to getting out of bed should be its own comedy special.

Time flies.

Mid-life crises are real.

And clichĂ©s
 well, they’re clichĂ©s because they stick.

To keep this first chapter short and enticing, I’ll leave you with one of my favorites:

“You working hard, or hardly working?”

I’ve heard it a million times — professionally, personally, sarcastically — and yet, it’s true. What you put into your life, career, relationships, and passions is exactly what you get out.

And so here we are — embarking on this little journey together. These are the thoughts that keep me up at night. The stories. The humor. The truth of it all.

Maybe they’ll connect with someone out there — someone who laughs, relates, or feels a little less alone navigating their own 40s.

Working title?

“SHEEN ClichĂ©s ’Til My 40’s.”

We’ll see.

For now
 welcome in.

Let’s turn the page.

CHAPTER 2 — ClichĂ©s from the 90s

I was 10 years old, playing on a competitive indoor co-ed soccer league. We lived in Salt Lake City, Utah at the time.

In 1993, our team — literally named #1 — won the Utah State Championship for our division. Huge moment. Especially when you’re ten.

Those long-sleeved bright-yellow jerseys? Heavy, hot, and unforgettable. You could sweat through them just by looking at a soccer ball.

I was a right striker, playing year-round — competitive teams, school teams, you name it. Soccer was everything. Varsity would come later
 and tennis
 and eventually golf (we’ll get there).

But back to the story: we won — yay team #1!

Our coach took us on a surprise trip to a little town called Lava Hot Springs, Idaho — about an hour and a half north on I-15.

To 10-year-old me, it was pure magic.

Steam rising over hot pools.

Snow falling.

Laughter echoing.

Freedom.

Team joy.

Childhood wonder.

I talked about that trip for months. Looking back now, I finally understand why that simple moment mattered.

It was humbling. Rewarding. Quietly transformative.

That trip planted something in me — a spark of possibility, curiosity, and connection to tiny towns with big hearts. A feeling I couldn’t name then, but recognize deeply now.

So yes — clichĂ© or not — that childhood moment shaped a piece of who I am today.

Thanks Cassie.

Thanks Javier.

Thanks Coach Cassie’s Dad — nurse, soccer dad, and championship-winning coach who unknowingly changed my life with a weekend road trip.

CHAPTER 3 — The Years That Shifted Everything

Fast-forward to 1994 — just months after that life-changing trip — and everything shifted again.

At 11 years old, we moved from Salt Lake City to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho full-time.

One minute I was a city-ish kid with malls, crowds, sports complexes, and noise


The next minute, I was in a tiny town you can walk across in ten minutes.

It was surreal.

Exciting.

Confusing.

And somehow exactly what I needed.

Moving to Lava wasn’t just a change of scenery — it was culture shock with a capital C.

Salt Lake’s noise vanished.

Lava’s quiet settled in.

Everyone knew everyone.

If they didn’t know you yet, they would by lunchtime.

School felt like one giant family gathering where teachers doubled as coaches, and everyone’s business was community business. If you sneezed at 8:15, someone checked on you at 12:05.

At 11, I didn’t fully understand what starting over meant — new friends, new routines, a new version of me forming in real time. But I felt the internal shift. The stretching. The awareness. The beginning of “becoming.”

Lava Hot Springs wasn’t just my new home —

it was where I learned to adapt, belong, and see myself through a brand-new lens.

Dec 3rd, 2025 — Late Night Entry

5% battery left on my phone
 it’s 10:52 PM and I can’t sleep. Exhausted. A little delusional. And somehow — super productive at work today. Go figure.

Maybe the cliché really is true:

The more you do, the more you can do.

And maybe these late-night thoughts are part of the story too — the adult version of that 11-year-old kid trying to make sense of life in a new place.

Earlier today at a business networking event, I had one of those “Boise is such a small world” moments. Small-business owners here are woven together in the wildest, most human way — different backgrounds, different goals, but the same heartbeat of ambition, connection, and community.

We compete, collaborate, support, laugh, admire, and grow — all while juggling life, work, kids, chaos, passion, and burnout.

It’s messy.

It’s real.

It’s kind of beautiful.

Chapter 3 Cliché:

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

New town, new people, new life chapters


Yet the same resilient, curious, driven core inside me.

And now at 42 — through these reflections — I’m finally seeing it clearly.

Sheena Lynn Dance Mulholland M.B.A

December 2025 Opener;

Hello! Thank you for making it this far to what I’m calling (as a working title until further notice), My “Sheen-a-niggins”from SLC, Utah and early teens uprooted to a small town life style 2-hours north of Salt Lake City; Lava Hot Springs, Idaho – est. total city population: 379. No typo, for real-ish!!!

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