I am a …

Farmer’s daughter

I grew up on an Illinois farm in the middle of nowhere. As a kid, I liked living on a farm. As a teenager, not so much.

Wife

One fine day in August of 1990 I showed up to work and found a new guy sitting across the cubicle from me. I glanced at his nameplate. Zeck. I’d never heard of such a name. Weird.

My friend tilted her head in his direction and lifted her eyebrows at me. I shook my head. Nope. Not my type.

Within a few weeks, young Mr. Zeck and I became friends. Again, my friend gestured toward him and gave me a look. Again, I shook my head.

Didn’t matter if he was easy on the eyes. Or that he rode around town on a cool motorcycle. Or that he could make me laugh like no one I’d ever met before. He still wasn’t my type.

Four years later his last name became mine.

Thirty-three years later he still makes me laugh.

To this day I’m glad I never found someone my type.

Mom

I have enjoyed every age and stage of raising my three daughters.

First there were the baby and toddler years … Dressing them up in cute little outfits from Gymboree. I could never resist the matching shoes and hair accessories.

Then, the grade school years … Cheering them on as they tried new things, like a new sport or playing an instrument in band.

I even liked those emotional (but sometimes challenging) teen years … As I recall, shopping for prom dresses was both emotional and challenging!

But to be honest, our current stage is one I’ve always kind of dreaded. Hugging them goodbye when we take them to college. Helping them move into their first apartment. Meeting the boyfriend.

I know. I should be celebrating. After all, the goal has always been to raise strong, independent women. But now that we’re here I wonder if they even still need me. Maybe I’ve worked myself out of a job!

As it turns out, my job isn’t over. It’s just different. Hey mom, can you tell me how you make Jewish rice? Mom, I need your opinion. Do you have a minute to facetime?

I have a front row seat as I watch them find their way in this world. And it’s a great stage to be in.

Writer

I love writing stories that encourage, inspire, and entertain others. Writing makes me slow down and reflect on the good things God is doing. Hopefully through my writing, I can encourage others to do the same.

Jesus follower

In the beginning my motives for attending church probably weren’t the best. The way I saw it, there were two good reasons to go to church. First, I got to spend more time with my boyfriend. Second, his parents always took us out for Sunday lunch. Not very spiritual, I know, but I was 21 years old and that was all the incentive I needed.

Thankfully, in time I stopped focusing solely on the boy (and the free lunch) and started listening to the sermons. A few years (and many hard lessons later) I made the life-changing decision to follow Jesus. I’ve never regretted it.

MS Fighter

Of course, we all have experiences that we wish weren’t part of our story. This is a big one for me.

My symptoms were puzzling. Issues with balance. Tripping. Extreme fatigue. For a while, I dismissed it. After all, I was forty-something, so I blamed the hormones.

Finally, I put the pieces together and got a diagnosis: Progressive multiple sclerosis. Although MS affects every aspect of my life, there’s a reason I put it last on this list. No matter how “progressive” this disease gets, I refuse to let it overshadow all the blessings in my life.