I grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, close to the shores of Lake Erie. I have a younger sister and brother. My parents were not able to buy a house until my sister and I were out on our own. We were always close enough to walk to school. My graduating class had over 600 people.

My father was an alcoholic. He did most of his drinking at the bar, but it kept our family living on a lower income scale. He was not mean, and we were loved. He did attempt to stop drinking when I was a teenager and got sober for life when I turned 21.

My mother taught me to sew, and I even took a tailoring class when I was 17. I made most of my own clothes.

I babysat for money starting at a young age, then I got a job when I turned 16 at a large department store. I met a lot of new boys, and I dated every weekend. I think it built my self esteem to be asked out on a date, which is kind of sad really.

I have written a few articles about my first marriage as I married an abusive alcoholic. He was not abusive initially, but that changed over the years. I had 3 adorable sons. They were always my first priority.

I managed to complete my bachelor’s degree in nursing, then I started working at a hospital as an RN. This was a job I was good at, and I loved it!

Eventually, I was able to divorce that husband, and I kept my sons close to me. I also have systemic lupus with some complications, which impacted my life as I aged.

I worked until my doctor said ‘no more’ when I was in my early fifties. Then, I started writing more articles on Hubpages. I love research also, and I have researched my family tree back to the 1500s.

I particularly like writing about people, relationships and medical articles, as I will always be a nurse at heart.I also love to read and learn more about history, and I make stained glass art.

There is nothing more important to me than spending time with my family. I also enjoy traveling. I have traveled extensively in the United States, been on several cruises and to a few other countries.

I am a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which means I have a patriot that fought in the Revolutionary War.

I am happily married to a wonderful, thoughtful man. My three sons are each married to wonderful women, and I have a step-daughter. I am also blessed with four grandchildren.

I really love time with my family. I love to read and I like to write articles on a variety of topics. I love learning more about history, so I read a lot of historical novels, but I also love mysteries.

Writing on Medium has been really nice, as I love meeting the other authors. There is a very talented and interesting group of authors on Medium. Getting to know them has been delightful.

I have won 3 Top Writer awards and have 2 curated article on Medium.