Memories

While I was growing up my both of my parents worked full time jobs and ran a small dairy farm. This left little time to do things like going on a camping trip, taking a vacation, or riding snowmobiles. I made a promise to myself that when I had kids of my own, we would do all those things. Since I had never done any of these things before it was nice that we could experience them together. Now as my daughters have gotten older, we can look back, and remember all the special memories of all those family trips.

Camping was one of my family’s favorite things to do. We’d camp on sandbars on the Mississippi River most of the time. Many of our summer weekends were spent playing in the sand, swimming in the river, and roasting marshmallows over the campfire. After a few years we bought a pop-up camper and started staying at campgrounds around the area. Bluebird Springs in La Crosse, Dunromin over by Caledonia, Minnesota, and Goose Island are all very nice campgrounds to stay at. My kids’ favorite campground of all time is Jellystone Campground in Warrens.

When the girls were in grade school we flew to Florida for a vacation. We went to Disneyworld, SeaWorld Orlando, and Universal Studios. One day we rented a car and just spent the day on the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. The girls had so much fun running and catching the waves. After spending six days in Florida we boarded a three day Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas. We all got to try snorkeling for the first time.

Throughout the years we traveled west many times to visit my mother in Wyoming. We had decided that every trip would involve a new route, enabling us to stop at a different landmark each time. We drove through The Badlands, watched fireworks at Mount Rushmore and witnessed rock blasting at Crazy Horse Monument. We also spent time at Custer State Park, Yellowstone Park and Grand Teton National Park.

Once we got our snowmobiles winter became a more enjoyable season. My husband and I both had our own sled so that we could take the girls on rides. We would ride the local trails during the week, stopping for supper along the way. On the weekends we’d trailer the sleds and go up north. We went up as far as Lake Superior once and even rode right on the lake.

Since the girls have gotten older the camping trips and vacations happen less often. School and work are more important for them right now. Even though life is busy we still plan a trip to Hayward, Wisconsin, every summer. I strongly believe in spending time with my kids. All of these trips have created beautiful memories that we can cherish forever.

If you’re thinking about taking a trip out west, I recommend stopping in Wyoming. I believe it is one of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen in my life. Having visited there both in the summer and the winter, I would say no matter what the season, you are surrounded by spectacular views. From the majestic mountains topped with snow to the raging rivers, the sights are unbelievable. In the summer season the wild flowers are amazing in the open meadows, and if you’re lucky maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of an elk or a moose.
My first trip to Wyoming was back when my daughters were just four and two years old. My mother had moved to Wyoming in 1989, so it had given us a perfect vacationing spot. Yellowstone National Park is a place everyone should visit. I remember just standing in awe of it all at first, just taking in the beauty. The park is so big it’s impossible to see it all in on one day. The roar of the cascading waterfalls, Old Faithful erupting, and watching the wildlife in their natural setting, are all sights that should be seen at some point in your life.
A few years later, my husband and I had the opportunity to snowmobile across the park. We entered the park on the east side at Cody and rode through to West Yellowstone, Montana, the west entrance. Seeing the park in the winter season gives you a whole new look at the park. Taking the sleds through gave us time to see more of the sights that I hadn’t seen on my first trip. We drove past little sheds with snow piled as high as they were tall. It was so neat to see the hot springs steaming and the geysers blowing.
Riding sleds across the park was nice, but it was nothing like the trip we had the next day. I have sung the song “Winter Wonderland” many times, but now I was actually in one. One of our friends, who lived in Wyoming, knew of some places way back in the mountains, that most people don’t know about. It was all virgin snow as they call it. The snow was so deep that we were even with the pine tree tops. It was like we were in a snow globe.
My next visit out west I got to fly there. Seeing the area from the sky for the first time was cool. The Grand Tetons were gorgeous through the clouds. It was almost like being in a dream. I landed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If you’ve never heard of Jackson Hole, it is a huge tourist town that reminds me of our Wisconsin Dells. It is located in a valley so it is a popular spot for skiing. If you’re not a skier you can still take a tram way up the mountainside and look down over the town. Little shops line the streets and they even have a “watering hole” that has real saddles for barstools.
Throughout the years I’ve had many opportunities to visit Wyoming and every trip out there allowed me to see something that I hadn’t seen before. My mom has since returned to this area so the trips don’t happen as often. Someday my husband and I would like to return to that area and retire.

Stepping Out of The Box

As humans I believe that we tend to live life in a box. We live in what I call our “comfort zone”, a place where we feel safe about ourselves and our surroundings. Sometimes, in life, it is necessary for us to get on the outside of that box. It might be a first day at a new job, moving to a new town, or just experiencing something that you never have before. This is a time in our lives when we might have to say to ourselves, like they sang in the video, “ I think I can, can, yes I can, can, I know I can,can”.
In my life I have had a few opportunities to get on the outside of that box. After graduating high school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I had a steady boyfriend and wasn’t really thinking about college. So instead I took a job at TRW, an automotive plant, at the age of 19. I started out there as an assembly operator and continued doing that for ten years. Then one day a posting came up for an assembly lead person, a step under the supervisor. Many of my co-workers thought I should sign up for the job, but I was so comfortable doing what I had been doing, should I step out of that box?
As it turned out I did step out of that box only to enter another one. For fifteen more years I was employed at TRW, until last April when they told us the plant would be closing in October. Throughout my twenty five years there we had raised our kids and become used to our lifestyle. Now at the age of forty four I would be taking a huge step out of that box.
Initially my thoughts were “now what am I going to do with my life?”. The only option that made any sense was to go back to school. But what should I go into? As a younger person I had a few experiences with fainting in hospitals, so when I decided to take the Certified Nursing Assistant program at Western, my family thought I was nuts. They thought I would be on the floor more than I’d be standing. It was my chance to prove to myself and to them that I could do it. Of course there was more on my mind than just fainting, what about actually taking care of people, could I do it? The days before I had my first clinical I had second thoughts, and I had to keep telling myself, “I think I can”.
The six weeks went by and I passed the course and became a CNA. What an accomplishment for myself. It hadn’t been easy going from a factory employee to student. I had to learn how to study again and taking tests was something I wasn’t used to. This would end up being a stepping stone to what was next in my life.
Just in the last three weeks I have taken the biggest step I’ve had to take in my life so far, starting at Western as a full time student at the age of forty four. In these days I know I’m not the only adult who has to start over, many of us have lost our jobs only to find much better things awaiting us. I do believe things happen for a reason, I’m just waiting to find out what that is. I hope to take one more step out of my box and that is to start my new career as an Occupational Therapy Assistant.

"Hands on, deeply immersed, and fully committed to the problem at hand". This statement rings true an experience in my life. Back in August of 2002, I had the opportunity to chaperon a Mission trip to Toronto, Canada. My oldest daughter Kylie, who I had been having teenage problems with, was also going with. Twenty four other teenagers and six adults would accompany us. Being a mother of two teenagers, I had some second thoughts about making this decision. I never imagined how much impact this trip would have on my own personal life and the lives of so many others.
We took off from Galesville, Wisconsin, on a Saturday evening, all loaded up on a motor coach bus, for our thirteen hour drive. There was a lot of mixed emotions leaving, from having to say good-bye to parents or that special someone, to nervousness about what we would be encountering on our adventure ahead. Of course there were the cell phones, ipods, dvd players, and any other " comfort items" from home. I don't think any of us were thinking of how useless these items would be to us in the upcoming week.
Initially upon driving into the city that next morning, it was hard for us to see beyond the beauty of Lake Ontario and all the other sights of a huge city. Looking back now it's hard to see that beauty.
Our first real taste of homeless life came the following day. The kids had spent hours the previous night preparing sandwiches and getting all the goodies ready for the people we would encounter. We loaded our bags full of sandwiches, fruit and water bottles and set out on our way. It was awesome to see how the kids interacted with the people living on the streets. My own daughter shared a prayer with a man who lived on a cardboard box. The kids weren't holding back at all. Some of the people we offered the food and water to were afraid to take it, they just don't trust anyone. Our first day was an eye opener for not anly the kids, but us as adults to see how the kids opened up themselves to these people.
We visited a place they call "tent city'. This is just an old city parking lot that has been turned into a village of homeless people that live in make shift tents. The day we spent there we concentrated on the young kids. Our mission kids had so much fun just being kids. Playing games they hadn't played in years, at least not since the internet came about. I think these momories will stick with those kids forever.
During our stay we had the chance to volunteer at a soup kitchen as well. Many of the kids who had never worked in a kitchen, dug right in. Whether it was making the soup, setting tables or washing dishes, they did it all. The looks on the people we were serving was priceless. Looks of sadness and fear turnedd into smiles and joy.
I would say my favorite place to help was at the inner city daycare facility. It was so much fun to play with the young children and to observe the mission students being kids again. There were children of all ages, but the young ones sure pulled at our heart strings.
All of us started out on this trip not knowing what to expect. Only a week had passed and just watching the students in action and on the way home, I knew it had made a difference in their lives as well as my own. We had been committed to our problem and had great hands on experience.