Welcome To A Historians History
I am a historian of American History. I am a mother, wyf, teacher, student, and friend. I analyze compulsively; observing and asking why… Don’t bother with standard responses – they aren’t answers; they are rhetoric, something we say to respond, but they frequently lack reflection or analysis. Response driven rhetoric is a challenge. How did that come to be? Why? Who was involved? Who chose not to be involved? Who was excluded or prevented from participating? Why? What circumstances contributed to the outcome?
Making History
I was the first female licensed plumber in the state of West Virginia, when I tested for and received my plumbing and drywall contractor’s licenses. The women proctoring the exams were not surprised I was there to take the business part of the exam, but when it came to the trade competency they said, “We’ve never had a woman take the Plumbing Exam!” I did. I passed and received my licenses. I plumbed for several years before I returned to San Diego, California. With two teenagers in tow, we moved into the house my grandfather built in 1948. I remodeled the kitchen and bathroom – making them handicap accessible – and brought my grandmother home from a nursing home. I have been taking care of her ever since. And sometimes, it is she who takes care of me.
The Family Compound - It Ain't Kennebunkport
Four years after I returned to my place of birth, the property turned into a family compound. My parents live in a small cottage behind ‘the big house.’ Which isn’t big, but it was the first. My brother and his wife and three kids live next door in a mother-in-law suite. The ‘big house’ refers to the home where me, my wyf, kids and grandmother live. “Kids” is a misnomer since my daughter is away most of the time as the first person in our family to go to college directly after high school! But each summer she returns and is planning to attend graduate school closer to home. We are proud.
It has taken some time to get used to this communal family arrangement, but we make it work.