I grew up in a blue collar family with parents and a 3-year-older brother who loved me dearly. I also have an 8-year-older half-sister that I met when I was 26. My dad owned his own HVAC business and my mom was a nurse. They are both retired but they still work part-time jobs today. My brother passed away in 2019. I walked a few blocks to a small public school, participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, including church, Girl Scouts, piano, trumpet, choir, volleyball, basketball and golf. In my senior yearbook, my career goal was to be a technical writer. Who knew.

 

I attended a private women's Catholic college, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 1996. While there, I was on the newspaper staff, starting as a staff writer my freshman year and working my way up to the senior editor role by my senior year.

 

I had my first son during my senior year of college and got married later that year. Another son joined our family 4 years later and a daughter 3 after that. My kids are the joy of my life. We raised them in my hometown and I moved to the Mississippi River shortly after my daughter graduated from high school. My kids are grown adults with great careers and loving partners. I cannot ask for more, except for maybe grandchildren!

 

These days, I enjoy boating, writing, road trips, live music, traveling and seeing new places, and most especially enjoying beers with friends and family. Life is short. Make your dreams come true.