Where do I start?
My name is Jo.
I live in a very small hamlet in Orange County, New York – located in the famous (and beautiful) Hudson Valley.
I’ve lived in this area my whole life – in my present home since 1979. Wow! Forty years! (Please don’t judge me by my age š
I grew up with my two sisters on a dairy farm – 30 Holstein cows.
We were my Dad’s “boys”.
All farms need help. The lowly farmer cannot run his farming business without some help.
So here we were – 3 sisters doing the hard work (we thought) of helping my Dad. My sister and I hated it – resented that other ladies our young age were painting their fingernails and had pink bedspreads with faux fur trim.
Most of my young memories were of me and my “partner-in-crime” sister, Sue. Twenty months younger than me – and I admit it, I was such a bully towards her since she was my younger sibling… I tried every which way possible to not include her in my activities. Happily (but I didn’t understand at the time) my parents didn’t allow me to leave her out. And by doing this we grew up to be best friends.
What of my older sibling, Carol? She was older than me by 8 years. When she left home for the married life, I was 10 years old. Not much in common in those young years. She was dating her future husband while Sue and I were wading and catching crawdads in the brook!
Fast forward to the present – as I may share all the gory details of life in between then and now (gradually and over time) – I’ve been married, divorced, a single parent, a distressed single parent, a parent of a disabled child (now 40 years old), a grandparent, a grandparent of a child with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (many have heard of “Brittle Bone” disease), I worked as a school bus driver, I later expanded my career to be an assistant to the Director at the District transportation department in my school…
I am now retired – or maybe some would say semi-retired. I still freelance for a private school bus contract teaching school bus drivers and school bus monitors safety through mandatory courses in New York State. The truth is – I may never leave the school bus industry in my heart. I love interacting and motivating school bus people to be the best they can – and I love and have always loved the children I transported over the years. (Side note: Does anyone really ever retire?? In my mind the word puts me in a rocking chair, knitting scarves or waving at cars passing by my home – while rocking in my chair, of course!).
So this is a very brief overview of my life – a life I feel has had it’s difficult times and rewarding times, laughter and tears, triumphs and heartbreak. No different than many of you. Just a unique story that belongs to me.
What do I hope to accomplish with this blog?
I think basically I have such a deep need to inspire and motivate people.
I’ve been on this “inspire and motivate” path for many years – I think it’s ingrained in my personality.
So, all and all, please enjoy my “adventure”. Love and peace be with you all!
