A Long Look Back - The Interview

Rob, of Inukshuk Adventure, posted Out of Africa – The Interview, the other day and I was intrigued, not only by the interview, but with the idea of accepting an invitation to be interviewed myself. I did have to pause before accepting because I wasn’t really sure just how much I was willing to or wanted to talk about myself. I finally decided to do it and take a look at why I was hesitating in the first place. If anyone else would like to participate in this little exercise, it’s actually fun and the instructions are at the end of this post.

I know your day job is blogging these days, but what kept you out of trouble before the internet?
Actually nothing has kept me totally out of trouble! However, I have been involved in things that left me with less time for the trouble bug. I went to college right after graduating from high school. I had only been 17 for two weeks and had not a clue as to what I wanted to do with my life – besides have fun. Nevertheless, I went for a year and a half, before deciding that I was wasting my parents’ money, my time and I wasn’t having that much fun anyway – during that period of my life having fun was definitely a major priority.

Later, when I was living in Los Angeles, California and working at a hospital I ran into a nun that I had known in Texas. She was the Principal of a small Catholic school in Montebello, California. The school was frightfully overcrowded, they couldn’t afford to pay a decent salary and she was trying to talk me into teaching! I kept telling her that I didn’t even like kids, let alone to do it for less money than I was making. But she kept at it, saying that she just had a feeling it would be a good match and she promised that if I was really unhappy teaching she would let me out of the contract. By then I was curious and thought, what the hell???

It turned out to be a life-changing experience. I had fifty-five advanced 5th graders! I guarantee you that I studied a lot harder than any of them had to and had no time for trouble, but at the end of the six week period, you couldn’t have run me off. I loved the kids and they loved me, their parents were unbelievably supportive and helpful. And I finally knew what I wanted to do with my life, I had a goal and I was determined to return to college.

A year later I returned to the University of North Texas and got my degree. I returned to teaching, got married and had four kids in five years – that alone will keep you out of trouble – at least for a while.

You, like me have moved around a bit and are now living somewhere that’s not where you started out. Would you care to share your route map?As you’ve probably guessed, I ‘m originally from Texas and except for some time in California – Los Angeles and San Diego, I pretty much stayed put until my kid’s Dad, who was in the Air Force, returned from Vietnam. We were then stationed in Europe for three years. We lived in Germany for a year and a half, then Madrid, Spain for another year and a half. We returned to the states and went to Great Falls, Montana. We all stayed there even after my husband retired, until 1983 when we separated. I lived in Salt Lake City for a year before the kids and I all returned to Dallas in 1985. The kids and I stayed in Dallas until 1992 when I moved to Portland, Oregon where my youngest daughter, was dancing with the Oregon Ballet Company. She had developed stress fractures in her feet and was going to have to give up ballet and she was in a very low and hurtful place and I felt she needed my support. She later returned to California where she had been living for a while before coming to Oregon. In the meantime, I had fallen in love with Oregon and had taken a job as the assistant to the president of a Japanese company, Komatsu. The company got caught up in the Japanese financial disaster (sound familiar?) and had to shut down. By then I was 67 and decided it was time to retire. I moved to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico where I lived for a year before returning to Texas for a year. After that I moved back to Portland where I lived until my youngest son decided I needed a keeper and moved me to Seattle where I’ve been for nearly two years.

What drew you to blogging and what do you enjoy about the blogs you visit?Actually, I wasn’t drawn to blogging, I kind of got pushed into it by a friend about seven months ago when I was visiting her in Portland. She saw right away that I was not in a good space. As much as I love my kids, living with them had never been a viable option in my mind. But with the economy definitely heading for trouble – the signs were already there, I didn’t feel that I had a lot of choice. Plus he isn't married, doesn't plan to be, and at the time he had just bought a house, had a dog and was traveling a lot. He had built a lovely space for me and I did feel that I could be of help. Nevertheless, it wasn’t what I had planned on in my late years and I felt a very black cloud hanging over me. So, half-heartedly, I promised to give blogging a try when I returned to Seattle. And I did and it was the best thing that could have possibly happened to me. It has made such a difference in my life and I can truly say I wake up excited every morning and go to bed reluctantly. I’ve made friends around the world that fill my life with that joy and pleasure. I love blogs where the owners share their lives – good and bad, ups and downs, the things they love, the things they do, their experiences. And I have become one picture-taking nut! Plus, with blogging I have a place to share them.

What would be your must have item to take to a desert island?
Oh, there would have to be two – a laptop and a camera! Otherwise I’m staying in Seattle!

What’s your favourite inspirational saying or your life mantra?
See all things, all people, the world, through the eyes of love and compassion. I do have to admit that these days, seeing some things in this way is not particularly easy, but it's a goal.

If anybody else would care to join in the fun, here are your instructions:
1.Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2.I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pose the questions).
3.You will update your blog with the answers to the questions and let me know when you have posted it, so I can link it.
4.4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5.When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.