I'm now in my 60's (so hard for me to believe) and have begun to think of myself as an artist. This is such a foreign concept to me. I've been an elementary grade school teacher, a computer programmer, an office manager, an accountant and a corporate controller. I can honestly say I didn't really love any of those jobs. Oh, there were parts of them I liked, but overall none of them really fit my personality.

As a young girl, my mother and grandmother taught me how to use a needle and thread and to sew and crochet. Those memories are precious to me. I remember loving all the art projects during grade school but don't seem to have any memories of them in high school. I guess I got into music and theater at that point and then after graduation the goal was college. During those times, women became secretaries, teachers or nurses. My mother and sister were both teachers, so that seemed like the way to go. How little I understood about myself then.

So after a lifetime of working different jobs I never really liked, I was given the gift of early retirement. During the first few years, my husband and I wandered all over this great country of ours in our motorhome - from Florida to Alaska - and such wonders we saw. But after a while, we started staying longer and longer in just a few favorite places (my husband got into gold mining)! I had to have a hobby!

One thing has led to another and how delighted I've been to rediscover the artist in me. Am I an artist? I'm thinking, "YES"!