61Christine B Sievers (cbsievers)
Joined 9 years ago from Waynesville, North Carolina
Where to begin? I am retired. So, that means I have a lot of life behind me. Suffice to say, I have gone through my share of life changes - usually abrupt, unexpected, and extreme. Endings and beginnings, I have had a lot of those. Flexibility and creative solutions are my survival modes. But, there has always been one constant thread in my life. Writing. From journals, to short stories, to poetry, to internet writing, to personal letters - I always found a sense in home when I was writing.
Details? I was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite having a job in the city, my father bought a farm a short distance out of the city. He relaxed from his job on the weekends, and at the end of long summer days by growing things. So, the first seven years of my life I enjoyed wandering around nature.
Then came our big move to a suburb of San Diego, California when I was nine. In a big city, I found an entirely new way of being. I graduated from college with dual majors - child development and psychology. I got married, had two boys, worked in retail, helped my husband with his maintenance company, and taught school. I wrote a novel that almost got published, and scribbled in my journals. My boys grew up, and my marriage unexpectedly came to an end. Not my plan.
I moved to Santa Barbara, California and found a tiny studio apartment where I found freedom. I did commercial and house painting for my brother-in-law's company - dangling on ladders 2 and 3 stories above the ground. I moved on to teaching in an afterschool program, then on to fundraising. During that time, I became more serious about my writing - short stories, poetry, and some non-fiction internet writing. I, also, found a new passion, genealogy. I found myself in a new relationship that lasted for 15 years. Not my plan again, that relationship ended.
I wanted to move far away from all the memories, and yearned for the four seasons, and a small town. That is how I found myself in Waynesville, North Carolina. Surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains where all four seasons move in harmonious rhythm. I live alone and love my solitude. I have found new hobbies to add to my life - gardening, baking, and exploring natural ways to live my life. That is where I am at this moment of my life.