Me

I started this blog purely as a way to keep friends and family informed about what is going on in my life. I never dreamed that people who don’t know me would care. But lately, judging by the stats, it appears that quite a few do. Go figure. It occurred to me, that they might be wondering just who is this woman and how did she get so strange. Come to think of it, some of my friends may be asking the same thing. So here is the short version of my life story in black and white and a whole lotta grey!

It all began in Ft. Worth, Texas when the handsome young Seminary student boldly pursued the lovely young teacher to be and finally convinced her to marry him. Fifteen months later, I was born into the large West Texas Clan. Large in that there were a whole lot of them, and all of them except me are unusually tall, and every last one is a larger than life character.

Most of my passions in life have their roots in my childhood. My mom tells me that by two, I was quite a talker, and the thing I liked to talk about most was Jesus. She was always amazed at the things I would tell her about God and heaven, etc. So I mean it when I say, I don’t remember a single day of my life that I was unaware of God’s love and care for me.

When my dad graduated, he became pastor of a church in New Mexico. From the moment I saw the mountains, I was enchanted. Well, it is the Land of Enchantment after all. I spent most of my time outside, exploring trees and rivers and rocks and birds and bugs and moss….I really loved moss.

Right before I started first grade, my family traveled to Seattle for the World’s Fair. I saw the ocean for the first time and discovered that in my heart, it was a rival to my love for the mountains. To this day, I can’t decide which I love more. This trip also firmly established my love of travel and experiencing new cultures. Oh, and seafood, too!

I was fortunate to have a wonderful, loving family that encouraged me to learn and explore and try things. My grandmother taught me to cook and sew and crochet. She also introduced me to the joy of wonderful movies. But most importantly, it was in her garden that I developed my love for flowers. And strawberries. And uh, corn… okra… tomatoes…

My granddaddy imparted a love for music and photography. He was an opera singer and avid photographer. He gave me my first camera. So I have a good excuse. It’s genetic. I must take pics… I must! While we’re on the subject of genetic inheritance, my parents and all four grandparents were huge readers. I was predestined to become a bookworm. In our family we lived on a steady diet of books. A visit to the library or bookstore is still a favorite activity and good book on a rainy day- ah, pure joy!

My other grandfather imparted a lasting interest in learning about people, cultures and history. He was a world traveler, a true people person and a master storyteller. He encouraged me to be bold and adventurous, and was probably most influential in the development of my sense of humor and my storytelling skills.

William Wordsworth said, “The Child is the father of the Man.” In my case, the girl really was a miniature version of the woman I would become. Speaking of which, the rest of the story? Well, I grew up and went off to college….blah, blah, blah.