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Inspiring Women Magazine May 2023

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Cristin Middlebrooks Profiles Coordinator<br />

AWC Antwerp<br />

I come from Portland, Oregon – home to<br />

mountains and beaches that I still miss every<br />

day. After graduating from the University of<br />

Oregon – a proud third-generation Duck – I<br />

worked as an editor at a small Portland paper<br />

and then taught kindergarten for several years.<br />

I married my husband, Scott, in 2005. A year<br />

later our son Sawyer was born, and we moved<br />

to the Netherlands. My husband had an expat<br />

contract to work for ASML, a software company<br />

outside of Eindhoven. Within a year, our son<br />

Parker was born, and our lives were full of good<br />

friends and adventures. We were only supposed<br />

to be in Europe for three years, but when ASML<br />

offered Scott a local contract, we began looking for a house of our own.<br />

Missing the space we were so spoiled with back in Oregon, we bought a house in<br />

Belgium with a big backyard, where we've been happy ever since. I'm not really sure<br />

where the years have gone; watching my boys grow up has been bittersweet. It's been a<br />

blur of non-stop activity, acting as chauffeur, personal chef, study coach and all-around<br />

cheerleader. Now that their college days loom near, it's time for me to figure out the<br />

next part of my story: how to make my life more meaningful beyond my boys.<br />

A few years ago I began taking piano lessons at the local music academy. It’s fun, but<br />

performing in front of people still makes me nervous. I love reading historical fiction<br />

novels that have some romance thrown in and have begun writing my own. I also enjoy<br />

baking, watching old movies and going for long walks. I’m even training to walk a<br />

marathon along the Belgian coast this spring.<br />

With her son Parker (top left)<br />

With her son Sawyer (bottom left)<br />

Cristin and her boys (top right)<br />

Hiking outside Antwerp with<br />

AWCA friends (bottom right)<br />

In 2021, I joined the AWC Antwerp, hoping to connect with other Americans, make<br />

some new friends, and go on new adventures – best decision I've made in a long time.<br />

Everyone has been so kind, welcoming and incredibly inspirational. Last spring, I joined<br />

the board as Activity Director and served on several committees, including organizing<br />

our annual Founders' Day lunch, hosting a monthly writers workshop and organizing<br />

monthly nature hikes outside of Antwerp. In December, our FAWCO Rep, Tharien van<br />

Eck, heard about vacancies at <strong>Inspiring</strong> <strong>Women</strong> and suggested I contact them. I’m so<br />

glad I did.<br />

The team is amazing, and the women profiled by the magazine truly are inspiring,<br />

proving that every woman, everywhere has a story. For some women, inspiration comes<br />

from the simple need to help others. Others inspire with their desire to live each day to<br />

the fullest. I’m so happy to be part of an organization that provides a way for their<br />

stories to be told.<br />

114 INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 115

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