All the Latin and math I struggled through at Rancho led me straight to studies in Social Welfare at Long Beach State College where I gathered enough credits to become, eventually, an eligibility caseworker with the Welfare Department in Garden Grove.

In my 30's, with four young boys, my husband, and the family dog, we moved to my husband's home state of Pennsylvania. When my youngest son gained kindergarten age, I returned to work as an executive secretary for an individual who twice ran for Congress. Politics was not my forte and after picking up the pieces of an "almost win" the second time, I returned to the field of social work, where I served for 15 years, finally retiring in 2006 as an intake supervisor.

I followed two of my sons and their families to Tennessee and planned a quiet life of tending a garden, reading, and oil painting. That happens sometimes. My children, however, have envisioned a more active lifestyle for me and have me kayaking down the Harpeth River, babysitting a portion of my 8 grandchildren, and attending high school fast pitch softball (which I love). I also mix it up with the kindergartners at Vacation Bible School and hit "Silver Sneakers" when I'm feeling guilty about sitting around. Life is good, if I don't fall off my riding mower.