|
“Every act of kindness grows the spirit and strengthens the soul.” Fifty years, oh my! My first retirement was in 2016, when I left Virginia Commonwealth University as an Associate Professor and Assistant Department Chair in Occupational Therapy. A wonderful career. I miss the enthusiasm of students, teaching, and the challenge of writing, research, and working with a variety of teams. I do NOT miss the 60+ hour work week and the stress. My husband, Fred, retired two and a half years before me and then lovingly took care of his parents as they aged. Prior to retirement, we tore down our one-bedroom get-away, fishing cabin, and built a new house on Cat Point Creek, off the Rappahannock River. We moved fulltime to our new home on the creek in Warsaw, Virginia, a small town in the Northern Neck (Northern Neck) I appreciate the sunrises and sunsets, no traffic, and enjoy kayaking, swimming (in a wetsuit in early fall and spring), boating, hiking, gardening, and doing art and home projects or volunteer work. I am thoroughly mesmerized by nature as we watch eagles’ fish in the water. A perfect place to quarantine, and as a rural resident, I so appreciate Amazon Prime and pray for better internet! I always knew I wanted to continue to work parttime and after a year of retirement, house selling and settling, Fred was ready for me to work again. Currently, I work parttime in Early Intervention as an occupational therapist (with Zoom during the pandemic). I still jump with the kids on the trampoline, sing (as tone deaf as always), and get up off the floor, though one 2-year-old asked me, “Need help up?” I’ll work as long as I play with kids 2 days a week and play where I want the rest of the week. Parttime flexibility is wonderful. Hopefully, we will travel to visit National Parks, Alaska, and family (west coast). Our 2 sons are launched and live in Richmond (Cory, works construction) and recently, Owensboro KY (Nathan, works as a radiation therapist). To end 2020 with a positive, Nathan became engaged to his girlfriend of 11 years! No grandchildren, just a grand doggy who plays with our pup Carlee. Both love to swim in the creek. Some of my fondest memories from high school are working on a variety of plays (Thespians), Student Council, football games, FTA, dances, going to the senior prom as a single person (much to Ms. Grove’s disapproval!), and bringing powder puff football to MTLHS (learned about it when I lived in Fairfax VA my junior year). I love reconnecting or connecting for the first time with classmates and sharing memories. Looking forward to seeing YOU at the reunion. 2012 - 40th Forty years, oh my! After a wonderful senior year living with Mary Crothers’ family, I moved back to Virginia where my father was transferred after my sophomore year. I attended Mary Washington College for a year and transferred to the University of Virginia where I pursued my degree in Special Education while working at the Children’s Rehabilitation Center. In Charlottesville, I fell in love with the university, the profession, the Blue Ridge Mountains and rivers, and my husband of 33 years, Fred Tanner. I taught children with moderate intellectual disabilities in Charlottesville and as more children with physical disabilities entered my classroom (P.L. 94.142), I wanted to know how to help them more. Off to school. Fred and I moved to Richmond while I pursued a master’s degree in occupational therapy (OT) at Virginia Commonwealth University. After working as an OT in pediatrics, rehab, acute care, and psychiatry, I was tapped to teach at the university. Unbelievably, 26 years later, we are still in hot Richmond. Fred works as an RN at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, and I continue to teach in the occupational therapy program. I love the energy, challenge, mutual learning, and stimulation of collaborating with others. As the demands increase, the pay decreases, and students want more 24/7 access to my life, retirement sounds great…maybe in 5 years. After ongoing health issues, we adopted our two sons, Cory at 9 months old, and Nathan at 5 weeks old. Parenthood has been fun, exhilarating, challenging, and an eye opener to your own weaknesses. I know more about sports, music, community happenings, and racial biases than I ever thought possible. Both adult boys are living in the Richmond area and we continue to hope they will be fully launched soon. I love to volunteer (but have not done as much of this as I would like), hike, kayak, swim, take pictures, scrapbook, read, paint or do craft projects. Periodically, I become a gym rat…but not near enough. Our other “child”, Carlee, a mixed lab, border collie, and greyhound gives me a lift at the end of the day with her wagging tail, unconditional love, and excitement to go for a walk or a swim. Yes, I now have gray/silver blond hair from my early elementary school days and somewhat of a southern accent. Can’t wait to see y’all! “Laughter is the best medicine.”
|
