So…….it’s been 12.5 years since I created the first entry on this blog. Within a day or so of posting, I had a major life event that took my time and energy another direction. In the ensuing years, other twists and turns in life, not to mention the waning popularity of blogs in general, have continued to keep me away from my original goal. I continue to make efforts to improve my life along pentagonal goals, though I can't claim to be inspirational success with all the tips and hacks for perfectly balanced health.
Today, I have another motivation to put my writing out into the world, and it has to do with concern for the future of Democracy in our country. As a result, the next several posts I am planning center mainly on Social responsibility in a series that could be labeled “As I See It” to steal a title my late sister used on one of her blogs.
Before I get started, I am going to start with a little introduction. Over the past few years, I have listened to a lot (maybe even all) of Brene’ Brown’s Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead podcasts, and she always starts a new interview with the question, "What’s your story?" It does seem fair enough to provide a little background on where I am coming from and some of the influences that shape my viewpoints.
My father was a Soils Scientist for the USDA Soil Conservation Service. His job often took him out of town to conduct field work in other parts of the state. My father was a humanitarian long before it was cool. He introduced us to folk music of the ’60’s, and we listened to a lot of Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Odetta, etc. in our house. He kept up on current events, read a LOT, typed letters on a manual typewriter, and wrote a bit of poetry. He taught us integrity by his example and to steer clear of aesthetic atheists, cultural cretins, moral midgets, and emotional idiots in our relationships.
My mother was descended from Mormon Pioneers and raised in a small Idaho town. She raised us in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I have remained a life-long active member. From time to time I may quote scripture or leaders, not in attempt to convert my audience, but to show where I find alignment in my political and religious views. My mom was a nurse, though she got to be stay-at-home mom for my first 8 years. She taught us any job worth doing was worth doing well, how to think and act independently, and to persist in pursuing dreams.
Both of my parents taught us to enjoy the beauties of nature and emphasized getting an education--at least 4 years of college was expected of us. Both were died-in-the-wool Democrats, and I am one of two of their daughters who remained life-long Democrats, while two others have returned to left-leaning roots over the past decade. Some readers will be biased against my religion and others will be biased against my political affiliation, though I may or may not fit your stereotype in either case. Both have shaped my perspective, and I will undoubtedly refer to both in future posts, so consider this my disclosure clause.
I am the youngest of six daughters. My closest sister is 3.5 years older, while the older sisters are 7-12 years older and all participated in acting as part mother/part sister. By the time I was 10, the 4 older girls had left home, and we moved from a highly diverse city in California to a small town in western Colorado. I got to know the older sisters better when I visited them in their homes in my teen years, and while there isn’t space to describe them all here, we sisters have both similarities and differences, and I will just say we are each huge fans of the other 5. Thanks to them I have many amazing nieces and nephews. We lost our oldest sister to pancreatic cancer in 2019.
I am the only GenX member of my family, so I have often felt that I didn’t quite fit in with my generation. I wasn’t a latchkey kid, because my mom was home in the evenings. Granted, she was often sleeping because she worked nightshift at the hospital, but except for my 9th year, mom was always home after school. It was only just recently that it dawned on me that because Mom worked nights and took extra time charting, it was the mornings when she wasn’t home. So from the time I was 10-11, I was pretty much responsible for getting myself ready and off to school in the mornings, sometimes arriving late and sometimes arriving before the school doors were unlocked until I finally figured out how to pay attention to the time I should leave the house to get there about on time. I have decided that counts for fully claiming the GenX title. That and I remain a solid fan of '80s music.
In school, I was quiet, but by junior high had developed good study habits and started getting good grades, establishing my reputation as a brainy kid. In college, I signed up for a field course where we got biology and geology credit while visiting Yellowstone, climbing one of the Tetons, hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim, experiencing the Zion Narrows, plus Arches and more. Needless to say that first semester of college was the best. I continued to sign up for courses that offered field trips or field labs whenever possible, getting my undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Wildlife and Range Management. I even started my first year toward a PhD before ending my college years and beginning a career with the National Park Service.
My first NPS job was with the southeastern Utah parks, Arches, Canyonlands, and Natural Bridges followed by a move to Glacier NP where I served as park ecologist for 12 years before taking on the role of Director of the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center where I manage research permits and oversee staff who coordinate Citizen Science and Science Communication for the park. Overall, I have loved my career, especially the opportunity to work with exceptional staff.
As for my own family, I married later at age 37 to a sort of Renaissance man of many talents. After retiring from the Air Force in radar and fighter jet repair, his primary trade was computer repair. He is also a skilled carpenter, and does his own auto repair (mainly Hondas), and tinkers with designing tools he may need. He is a talented guitar player, has written many of his own songs, and enjoys model railroading in his free time. He is also generous, kind, a great story-teller (complete with Irish blarney), and a bit goofy. His kids were grown by the time we married, but I have loved being Nana to their kids. There is so much more that could be said, but my summary of life in a nutshell is already bursting at the seams.
Lastly, in the spirit of using Brene’ Brown’s conversational template, I will address one of her rapid-fire questions each post, starting with:
Brene' Brown question #1. Fill in the blank. Vulnerability is __________. My answer: On the front side, it can be downright scary, but on the back side, it can be relieving to let the guardrails down. What's your answer?
