Comments:
I've been up to school (11 more years of it) and work since 1988. I most-recently lived in San Francisco with my sweet, adorable, tail-wagging Dalmatian, Rose. She died in May 2016 leaving not paw prints, but a gaping hole in my heart. Time will heal this wound, but time comes very slowly. Rose and I lived the good life in San Francisco, with a park across the street from our apartment for people and doggies (more doggies than people) to play. Really good friends from all corners of the earth. A good job that paid the bills and allowed me to spread my wings a bit. And really good health care at UCSF, for which I will be forever grateful.
Rose and I had a great life in San Francisco and I thought I'd never leave, but my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012 and declined quickly. And because I love my mom more than San Francisco, I moved back to Mankato in 2014 so I could spend quality time with her and then help my dad and family as she progressed. It has been one of the hardest things I've ever done - leaving my life in San Francisco and now helping to care for my mom. But I know that I have to be here. This is the right place for me to be right now.
Before moving to San Francisco, I went to graduate school in Iowa City and then worked there at UIHC for an additional 8 years. The thing I'm most proud of from my time there is the 4 years that I spent as President of a non-profit in Iowa City developing the city's first Off-Leash Dog Park. It's 11 acres of doggie Disneyworld, only better: a yard for small dogs only; a yard for training, events, or allowing dogs who are afraid or aggressive around other dogs to have s chance to play and stretch their legs; a main yard for any dog; and a pond for dogs to swim. I was honored to have the pond named after my Dalmatian, Lily, whose need to have a place to run was the reason I got involved in this effort. I learned so much during that time about working with city officials, developing proposals, fundraising, and about myself. I recommend non-profit work to everyone.
