There are two sayings that define me, both as a person and as a novice writer. One saying that was repeated as I was growing up was from my mother. She would often remind me “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” And that base of confidence and questioning allowed me to venture into many rewarding and defining experiences. After college, I knew it was the moment in my life when I would be able to venture afar, without the responsibilities calling many of my peers, like jobs and possessions. I joined the Peace Corps, serving in the Fiji Islands, which turned out to be the best job I ever had. From there I completed my promise to myself to circumnavigate the globe, and arrived back in States in 1976. For the next 45 years I felt like a stranger in a strange land.
The second saying defines my life to those 45 years in many regards. “If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much room.” As a working mother of one son and a marriage to an uncommon man, I spent a great deal of time making ends meet while cherishing my family and community wherever we lived. At one point, my husband and I founded a specialty food company in Maine in 2000 that survived the 2008 stock market crash and long recession. During that period, I discovered my passion for not only our food products, but my ability and desire to write business proposals and grant applications that kept our business growing. Despite the sad demise of our 14-year-old food processing business, I came away knowing I wanted to apply my writing skills to a memoir entitled Letters to My Son.
I appreciate that my son is experiencing such a different world than the one I had the privilege to see after college. Knowing many of my memories are rare if not impossible to experience in today’s world motivated my desire to write this book.
My husband and I came to Panama in 2021 after the COVID restrictions allowed us to come. The first week we were here, I felt at home, embracing the culture and feeling I was once again a citizen of the world. We focused on the community of Boquete and came back to live here full time in January 2022. I had learned about the Boquete Authors Group and began attending their meetings the first month we arrived. I still consider myself learning, while struggling to find the time required to write seriously. But, this group has provided me with a place where I can feel comfortable learning from my own mistakes while basking in the compliments when I know my story is coming across. I am committed to putting this book on paper, but this group has also provided me with the insights and skills of truly creative writers. I may have to write a second book, when I finish the one I have started.