Inspiring Women Magazine May 2023

Excerpt from the original article.
“Where are you from?” has always been a
difficult question for me to answer as my father
was an Air Force pilot, so growing up, we moved
every couple of years. As the new kid in school,
I had to put myself out there to meet other
children or be lonely. I knew the meaning of
“loquacious” very early in life.
We spent five years in Madrid during my
formative teenage years, so Spain has always
felt a bit like home, but I have also lived all
around the US. As an adult, I have mostly lived in
the Seattle area and Sonoma, California.
My parents gave me an SLR camera for my 16 th
birthday while we lived in Madrid. They were
avid travelers and history buffs, so I was
fortunate to travel extensively with them and
credit them for my lifelong obsession with
exploration, adventure and travel photography.
I have been to more than 50 countries.
At university I studied Economics and Art
History, and photography for me has always
been a mix of left and right brain, to use a cliché.
Going from film to digital was a reinvigorating
challenge, and being able to process images at
home rather than in a dark room made
photography a great hobby again. I joined
photography organizations to improve my skills,
meet other photographers and participate in
competitions and gallery shows. Now my
husband would say I am obsessed.
My husband Harold and I were retired and living
in Sonoma, California, but looking for our next
chapter. Luckily we managed to combine our
desire to give back with our love of adventure,
as Harold is currently a volunteer Business
Coach for the Stanford Institute for Innovation in
Developing Economies. Stanford partners with
entrepreneurs in emerging markets to build
thriving enterprises to help end the cycle of
global poverty. We had been in Nairobi for less
than two years when COVID-19 arrived,
temporarily sending us back to the US while we
wait out the pandemic. We love being home in
Seattle but enjoy Kenya and really look forward
to returning.
Read more/rest of original article by clicking here:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/
read/63740012/inspiring-women-fall-2020/6
2023 update
The pandemic was, of course, a very difficult
time for most people worldwide. With airports
shutting down, we had to leave Kenya with 48
hours notice and no time for goodbyes.
However, once back home in Seattle, I spent
time with my aged parents, even if behind
masks and shields at first. My father passed at
92 years of age, and I was at his bedside at the
end. The silver lining of Covid-19 for me was the
priceless gift of time with my parents and
siblings. And I found out I could spend 24/7 with
my husband and enjoy every minute of it. We
returned to Nairobi last year and are thrilled to
be back in Africa.
“Goodbyes and New Beginnings”
Of all the people and situations you have said
goodbye to in your life, tell us about two that
you miss the most. Why is that?
As I mentioned, I lost my 92-year-old father in
2021. I loved and respected him, and while he
led a full and happy life, losing a loved one is
always difficult. I am fortunate his wife of 66
years, my 90-year-old mother, is still with us,
albeit a long way away from Nairobi, and I miss
her terribly. Leaving her to return to Kenya in
2022 was difficult, but thank goodness for
instantaneous email, text, and FaceTime. Back
in the Dark Ages, I remember waiting in line for
a phone booth to make an international call
home when traveling for long periods of time.
International phone calls were so expensive we
used to time ourselves so we didn’t talk too long.
Now we can video chat anytime, which really
helps bridge long distances.
Of all the “new beginnings” in your life, tell
us about two that you really remember/that
turned out to be unexpectedly important.
1. My family moved to Spain when I was 12
years old. It was a life-changing experience and
set the stage for a lifetime of exploration. My
parents enthusiastically embraced new
adventures, pitfalls and all, and instilled the
same in all of us. On our first family outing, we
packed everyone into our big Chrysler station
wagon, drove into Madrid and found ourselves
facing oncoming traffic, going the wrong
direction down a major boulevard. My father
managed to turn around safely and just said,
“First lesson learned!” We continued into town,
trying not to get the huge vehicle stuck in the
narrow old streets.
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