Next time I write one of these, I’m going to tell you that I’m singing lead in an R&B band and riding an old Harley. I did drive a 1959 356A Porsche roadster for several years until the kids outgrew the rumble seat. We’d roar up the driveway to Montessori school with the gang hanging out of the sunroof. Then, I got stuck in the station wagon years, and I can’t seem to get myself back into a cool car. Where is that Porsche?

Let’s see . . . My parents moved to North Carolina the day after we graduated, so I very quickly lost contact with high school friends, since I rarely came back to the area during holidays and vacations. I spent that first summer waiting tables at Hot Shoppes with Merrill Larson, then headed to Middlebury where I studied chemistry, learned to ski and sprained my ankle badly. After two winters, I realized that I truly was a southern belle with a desperate need for cherry blossoms and daffodils during those months that the rest of the world calls spring. No more mud season! I transferred to GW with a major in art history and minor in studio art, which landed me a job as a graphic designer for ABC News in Washington, where I stayed for 11 years - the last 4 on the staff of Good Morning America. Yes, I did go to work at 4 a.m., but the hours allowed me to be home in the afternoon for soccer practice (I was the mom who was sound asleep under the tree.)

The 70’s were our Mother-Earth-Back-to-the-Land-Self-Sufficiency years. We lived on a farm in Loudoun County, chopped wood, raised chickens and children, ate chickpeas and lentils, wore Earth Shoes, etc., etc. (And commuted to Washington for our jobs.)

In the early 80’s, I made a career shift, went back to school and received a graduate degree in landscape architecture. Over the last 25 years, I’ve worked for private sector firms doing projects from large-scale land planning to historic park restoration and private residences; for the public sector with local planning design and implementation of Smart Growth policies; and for the nonprofit sector doing heritage area planning for the Potomac basin and city parks advocacy. While doing my Potomac work, we partnered with the Maryland Environmental Trust, and I found myself working with John Hutson (I’d always thought it was “Hudson” until he sent me some correspondence) who turned out to be Susan’s little brother. Right now, I’m working with the Baltimore Conservatory and Botanic Garden (for fun) and managing our personal real estate investments (for profit.)

On a parallel family track . . . my older daughter Adrienne is 36, works as a food editor, and just moved to Bristol, UK with her British husband, Nick, and 7-1/2 year old daughter, Isobel. My younger daughter Melissa is 33, manages product development for Tiffany’s, and just bought her first apartment in Brooklyn, NY, with her Italian husband, Riccardo, and 3 year old daughter Flavia. Their apartment is the size of my living room.

I won’t tell you about all of the dogs and cats in my life over the last 40 years, but there have been 2 husbands (some of you have me beat on that item) -- the last one a real keeper. Peter has just wrapped up a 25-year career in the wine business, mostly in importing and distribution (we drink well) and has started a new business in green building. He cooks; he cleans the pots and pans; he takes me hiking in Italy; he does qigong with me. In short, he’s in charge of making me laugh and making sure I don’t take myself too seriously. We live in midtown Baltimore in a neighborhood of 3-story Victorian rowhouses that looks a lot like Dupont Circle, but without the heavy traffic. We love Baltimore.

It’s wonderful to hear from so many people. Many of us go back to Miss Scanlan’s 7-15 homeroom at NB. Scary!

 

 

My life has been a journey that is still ongoing.  After high school I went to Vanderbilt University , primarily because they had a new major, Molecular Biology.  There I became acquainted with southern culture and met some wonderful friends.  During my senior year I realized that I probably wanted to do research and that I needed a PhD to do that so I went to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison .  I arrived right after the bombing of the physics building which really put an end to the student protests.  Madison because one of my favorite places.  It has lakes and I learned to sail, iceboat, and cross country ski.  The politics were liberal and it was a pleasure to vote for candidates.  I married briefly, but we parted ways and he went off to Southeast Asia .  I met my second husband during my postdoc, a handsome Norwegian during a Fulbright Fellowship in the lab next door.  We moved to Norway to Tromso which is north of the Arctic Circle , yes the midnight sun and 2 months of darkness in winter.  I learned Norwegian fairly well and enjoyed the beautiful nature.  You just go out with rubber boots and a raincoat.  I still am in touch with friends there and we occasionally meet for trips in Europe .  We had our first child in Tromso.  Then when David was 1 year old, we moved back to the States to Hershey Pennsylvania .  After 5 years there, we obtained positions at Wake Forest University in the School of Medicine in Winston-Salem , North Carolina .  We had our second child there, Katja.  She is now a senior in high school and David has a job and is living in Charlotte , NC .  He loves North Carolina , went to Chapel Hill , and plans to stay here forever.  Katja is looking at schools all over and is the child that loves to travel and meet new people.  They are both a pleasure and delight. Returning to the States put many strains on our marriage and we have separated this year after 28 years together.  It has been a journey of discovery that has led me to a more connected life, back to core values.  I will love the outdoors but have added yoga and nonviolent communication to my life.  It is exciting and scary.
 
Professionally, I went into academics for the freedom, creativity, and flexibility the job offers.  An additional benefit that I enjoy tremendously is the chance to work with people from all over the world and to travel both inside and outside the US .  My scientific passion is in nutrition although I am on the molecular side of the spectrum.  Considering the challenges facing women in the sciences, becoming a full professor was an achievement.  My part time role in administration has provided opportunities to look at the big picture which I enjoy.  Perhaps it is age, but in recent years, I have become more interested in mentoring and promoting diversity.  I have found that I have vision and I want to build and grow rather than maintain.  So I am looking for change and new challenges either here or elsewhere.  I am actively involved in my neighborhood association and find that I enjoy it tremendously.