Kids, Army, not in that order. College at 20, 24, 28 and 40. Art, pottery, painting, poetry. English degree first; Social worker last – childhood and my marriage fed that well. Trauma therapist now – childhood and the marriage fed that well also.  I discovered poetry at 40. I wrote a lot in those years but I have fallen off since. In order to earn the masters in English I did write an autobiographical poetic thesis. So I certainly have written my share of poetry. But I know I’m rusty. I brought my mom to live with me in 2018 and she passed away last December. Not from Covid but from old age. She was 94. Right now I’m writing a book called “Mom and Me” because she was a huge influence in my life with her Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde approach to parenting and because paradoxically I miss her. I’m not young chronologically however I don’t want to say my age because I don’t want that to influence anyone. I think ageism is just as alive as other forms of discrimination only it seems to be acceptable in some circles. There’s an unspoken/unacknowledged expectation that at a certain age you should look a certain way or behave a certain way and I’ve never liked that.  I didn’t do life in any kind of chronological order –  I never had a plan. I was set on a certain course from birth by other people’s behaviors as many of us are and I reacted to those things overtime. I was in therapy for a long time before I became a therapist. During the last 10 years or so my focus has been on elevating my consciousness; living in the present moment, being honest with those I love and helping others. In addition to being a trauma therapist I’m also an EMDR therapist. My life is active and interesting but also challenging and stressful. Retirement hopefully is just around the corner. I kind of want to move to Hawaii for that. This is a really cool place.