About Me

Sun Road 287I have been married for close to 50 years, have three grown children, and 5 grandchildren. I have an MSW (social work) and a Ph.D. (clinical psychology) that allowed me to do very rewarding work before I retired in 2010. The work that I enjoyed so much involved being a mental health therapist along with a college professor and department chair. That part of my life feels like a long time ago. I am in the process of recreating myself yet again – this time because a chronic illness turned my life inside out. A very important factor in my ability to heal, physically and psychologically, has been my faith in God, who guides me and provides strength. My faith and my education have combined to form the belief that we have an amazing capacity to heal and grow if we look for and use the gifts that are available to us.

I value relationships, human development until our moment of death, social justice, world peace, and intellectual stimulation. I enjoy time with the people I love, being creative, reading books, writing, travel (including camping), quilting (especially piecing), and good food. I don’t enjoy exercising (but I do it), deciding what to have for supper (my household task), housecleaning (my husband does most of it), or being around people who don’t play nice.

8/2/12 Update as I am recreating myself:

I have allowed my long-denied desire to take photographs to emerge as an extension of my blogging activity. What a joy. I am looking at the world differently and having fun trying to capture the images of life in a meaningful way. The evening news presents so much ugliness and the antidote to this is seeing the beauty of God’s grace in people and nature through my photography. In this I have found new meaning for my life. A side benefit of photography is that it gets me out and moving as I explore the world with my camera. 

131 thoughts on “About Me”

  1. How lovely you have chosen to focus through the lens. Buying a camera and focusing on the world through a lens certainly opens your eyes to every tiny detail. Once I bought mine, did a bit of a course, I can’t stop seeing detail that maybe others just pass by on. It certainly gets you out and about! Isn’t it fun 🙂

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    • Thanks. What a nice compliment and I appreciate your checking me out. I visited your site and am excited about seeing more of your part of the world.

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  3. Hi Pat. I wanted to say thanks for finding me through Celi’s blog and following I am therefore I write, even though I’ve taken a bit of a break. I’ve been trying to slowly check on the blogs of many of those who follow Celi and are members of the Fellowship. Your photos are wonderful and I look forward seeing more and exploring your blog.
    Deb

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    • Thank you so much for your feedback about my post. I appreciate hearing it because that is what I want my blog to be. How did you choose mockingbird? I love their songs and posted a couple of pictures last week that I took in Florida last winter.

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  11. Just happened to run into your blog. You have got a beautiful space running here. Loved some of your write-ups. Its very subtle . I guess I will be hanging around here a lot. 🙂 Your vision and thoughts are indeed a revelation. Great work. Keep blogging.

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  13. Hi, stumbled across your blog, I’ve just read your about me, and it is surprising how much you remind me of myself, and you have achieved what I wish to achieve in the future (:
    Good luck with recovery!

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  14. Pingback: In the Pink | The Palladian Traveler

  15. Thanks for writing your update about photography emerging as an extension of your blogging activity. That’s what happened to me–and I too, am so glad for it. You describe it well.

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  16. Pat, I am recovering from an injury last summer and my blog took me from my bed out to the world. I already had the photos so that made it easier. Now I can get get out again and my camera makes me focus on the pictures that I am taking not my problems. It really has saved me.

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    • I hear you, Barbara. It is photography that gets me out and moving and the blogging makes photography even more fun because I have people to share the pics with. So glad it works for you too. 🙂

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  17. I am glad I found your blog. We have a lot in common, 3 grown children, retired in 2010, love writing and photography, I too suffer from a chronic condition but refuse to let it hold me down. I also hate excercising (but do it) and deciding what to eat (sometimes it iends up just toast)
    I look forward to more of your posts.

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  18. thanks for the likes and deciding to follow my blog. I enjoyed looking through your blog. My wife also suffers from FM and has learned to pace herself. She recently decided to try and learn photography so it has been fun to help her along and have her with me on my photo walks. We are about to celebrate 43 years together and we still enjoy each others company. Best Wishes!

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    • Thanks, Eddie. I hope that she finds the benefits from photography that I have. It has kept me active both physically and mentally. I can still do most everything I used to do, I just can’t do it as often or intensely or as long. But that may also be aging. 🙂

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    • Thanks for visiting, Scott. I enjoy your blog. I think we should allow photography to be our obsession! I know I have lost way too many other obsessions because of aging so I’m not fighting this one. 🙂

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  20. Sorry to hear you’re a FM & chronic illness sufferer also.
    But delighted to hear you’ve found new life in photography. As I had to take early retirement in 2010 due to chronic pain & illness, it seems that we shared similar paths in recent years.
    I’ll be interested to read how you’ve found the 50mm lens.

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    • I love the 50 mm. It really suites type of photography I like best and it is light weight. I consistently get good images without a tripod. And it was inexpensive.

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  22. Thanks Pat for visiting my neck of the woods!! It has been a pleasure visiting you here. I am so sorry that you must deal with the physical issues you’ve been dealt. But, you are an inspiration as most of us will slow down over far less!! So keep a goin’ and look forward to reading more.

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    • Thanks for the inspiring words, Judy. Today was a pity-party day so your comment helped. My discouragement doesn’t last long, luckily. 🙂

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    • Thanks. I really enjoyed your photography and think i can learn a lot from you. I am trying to learn to do landscapes that please me. I have been more partial to macro but am getting intrigued with the “bigger picture”. You do a great job.

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      • I am doing well. Thank you for asking. I must pace myself and no longer work full time. I teach an occasional online class for a nearby university. Two nights a week I teach at an evening high school for disadvantaged mountain kids (the Appalachian region of the U.S.). Many of the students must work in the daytime to help support their families. Yesterday I interviewed for a morning teaching position at a another school. Some of my friends think that all of that is too much, but I still will have three weekday afternoons plus weekends in which to rest and recuperate. I am determined to keep going, so I push myself but also include time for rest. I have a wonderful, supportive family, so that helps so much. How about you?

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        • I pushed myself really hard for about 7 years and did a lot of great things at work. I then made the decision that I just couldn’t do it any more because I didn’t have a life outside of work – I had to sleep to heal enough to start again the next week. I was determined for those 7 years and had a great doctor that would help patch me back together after I went too far. I learned how to care for myself through that experience. It took me two years to get over being angry about having to retire. I did a little teaching, too. I have a passion for the returning students who are trying to get an education while they are doing what they need to do to support a family. But a recently decided not to do that any more because the 4-hour night class was just too hard. I am loving retirement now – and spend time each day photographing and blogging. But I still overdo and still pay the price. My choice. 🙂 Sounds like we have a lot in common – nice to meet you.
          Pat

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