Born
in Tacoma, Washington on December 25, 1948, I began my travels at the age of 3
months. My family moved from Washington to Tennessee by order of the United
States Air Force, and moved every few years until my father’s retirement in
1962. He was a pilot retiring with the rank of colonel.
Life in a military family was somewhat nomadic, but balancing the regrets
of leaving friends behind was the golden opportunity of making new ones. Hence
the desire to travel and the skills to do it with ease are deeply rooted, as is
my love for children.
My
grandfather was a family physician, my grandmother a teacher and social worker.
Mom raised five children and half of every neighborhood across the country. My
aunt had four children and raised the other half of all the kids across the
country. I continue the tradition, but having only one child of my own, I’m
trying to make up the deficit by caring for children from all over the world.
Learning
independence was big at our house. Babies were coddled and spoiled but had their
first lemonade stand by Kindergarten. My sister and I started our first
childcare center when I was 11 and she 13. We cleaned, painted and equipped an
unused storage building to make a playhouse and provide preschool activities for
the neighborhood children. We didn’t make much money but we had a busy summer
and laid the foundation for the childcare centers we each developed later.
When my daughter was born in 1973, my career path followed her development. I worked in or started programs for children of her age group from infants through college. As she grew, I grew. We opened our home to foreign students when she entered high school and expanded our cultural awareness through the youth of other countries. She has now graduated from college and on July 17, 2000 we joyfully welcomed her first baby, my grandson, Hayden James, into the world. There is nothing more wonderful or wondrous than a baby in your life.
I urge you to read my resume for most of my career activities, take some notes and let me fill you in on more details when we talk in person. I would love to hear from you. Perhaps you’ll share some of your family stories.