I miss you Sam!!

I miss you Sam!!
I miss you Sam!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

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.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Sylvia I'm so glad you decided to join the fun. I hoped the questions would be right and I think they were.

That was a great interview and so good to learn more about you and your interesting life.

You are giving me a run for money on the moving thing! Thanks for joining in.

Linda Reeder said...

Sylvia, I love reading your interview! You say so much with such efficiency, and it's wonderful to get to know so much about you.
I wouldn't mind being interviewed, but I don't know if I could come close to your writing ability, and I'm not sure I could ask the right questions of others. Mark me down as tentative.

Sylvia K said...

Linda, I was tentative for several days, not sure I wanted to put even as much down as I did, but finally decided, why not? How many times do we get a chance to say it like it is/was?? It wasn't all fun, but I'm happy with where I've landed, in spite of the rough roads it took to get here.

Val said...

hi Sylvia I came here from Rob - Inukshuk Adventures; what a fabulous interview - you sounds wonderful - i really enjoyed reading about you. thank you!

Miranda said...

Also came via Rob. Great to read, thanks!

karen said...

Hi Sylvia, loved your interview - yes, also here from rob! these interviews are amazing - to see how people have lived, changed and come out the other end of all their experiences. thanks for sharing with us all :-)

Tessa said...

I also scooted over from Rob and, boy, am I thrilled I did! How wonderful to have discovered your blog...and to read such erudite and interesting answers to Rob's excellent interview questions. Thank you so much for sharing those life experiences with us. You've made me realise that getting older doesn't mean that the adventures have to cease!

Angela said...

Hi Sylvia, I am only a little younger than you, and I loved reading what you had to say and what you learned in your life. i am from Germany (speaking English because I once spent a high school year in PA), and to me it is also fascinating to get connected with so many different people all over the world. Like the others, I came here via Rob.

Anonymous said...

I came here from Kay's Musings. Thank you for that wonderful interview. You have led an interesting life.

BTW, I love your humorous photos. Keep them coming!

Mortart said...

Sylvia,
I've finally read the chapters of "Looking Back," and have found them fascinating. You have led a far more interesting life than any women of your generation. (I was going to say "our" generation, but you're younger than me.)Thanks for being such a faithful reader of my blog.

What Can I Say?

What Can I Say?
I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

Portland Time