I grew up in Ryegate, Montana, a small rural town with all the small town traits. I received my BA in Sociology with minors in Art and Education from the University of Montana, then after a few years working in youth treatment facilities, I finished my Masters in Counseling from Montana State University. I worked as the K-12 Counselor in Frazer MT, which is located on the Fort Peck Reservation in Northeast Montana – the best job I ever had! Then, being single and adventurous, I moved to Forks, WA to be the high school counselor there. Meanwhile, I found the love of my life, Terry. We married, and I became stepmother to his two daughters. After 13 years at the high school, I left education and tried out real estate sales — not my niche — but a great education nonetheless. Twenty years ago, my husband and I moved back to my hometown to take care of my father who was recovering from a stroke, and subsequently died of cancer. Meanwhile, I stepped in to an opening for school counselor at the school I grew up in. What irony! I worked as the K-12 Counselor and 7-12 English teacher for nine years, until retiring to be my husband’s primary caregiver. He has late stage Parkinson’s Disease and needs 24 hour supervision. I am just recovering from a double mastectomy, due to a recurrence of breast cancer and my unwillingness to let the possibility of another recurrence interfere with my long-term agenda!