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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2019)
24 Wednesday, December 4, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Of a certain AGE Sue Stafford Columnist The Unexpected Life Growing up in the south- west hills of Portland, in an area that used to be the country, I was a child of nature. Animals, flower and vegetable gardens, and the <Hundred Acre Wood= behind our house provided hours of outdoor adventure to engage my vivid imagina- tion. We were never without cats and dogs, and I even raised a baby raccoon to his full adult size. Once I mastered riding a bike, I rode for miles on two- lane roads with little traffic. I also spent many happy days with my cousin in Hillsboro, riding her horses for long distances in the very rural Tualatin Valley. Portland was pretty pro- vincial in those days 3 a great place to grow up. My intact nuclear family was part of a much larger extended fam- ily, 90 percent of whom also lived in Portland. The role modeling provided for me was to work hard in school, plan on going to college, and, because I was a girl, become a teacher or a nurse 3 until I got married and had a family. Of course, there would be grandchildren, and my hus- band and I would grow old together. The mold started to show cracks when I was about 10 or 11, when I announced I wanted to marry a rancher and have five sons. At about the same time, my career dreams centered around vet- erinary medicine. I didn9t receive much encouragement for either path. My individuality showed up in my choices of schools. My two older brothers had attended Lincoln High School in the Portland School District. I had another option with the open- ing of the new Sunset High School in the Beaverton dis- trict, so I chose Sunset over Lincoln 3 rural and suburban over city kids. My first two quarters of college were at Portland State University and I lived at home, to be closer to a boyfriend who wasn9t a boyfriend by the beginning of fall quarter. I transferred that spring quarter to Oregon State University, not to the U of O where my brothers had studied. I pledged a sorority at PSU but, when they found out I planned to transfer, they wouldn9t initiate me. I had always thought I would be part of the Greek experience and make life-long friends like my brothers had. College is when my <expected life= really began to include the <unexpected.= With no sorority life, I lived in three different dorms and an apartment with different people every year. My social life was on the fringes of the action 4 a very different experience from being a big fish in a small pond in high school. I went into college think- ing I would be a high school English and journalism teacher. After three or four changes of major, I gradu- ated with a degree in clothing and textiles with a business Made in Sisters, Oregon Tasty THURSDAY December 5, 5 to 7 p.m. LIVE MUSIC Sat., Dec. 7, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mike Biggers & Jim Cornelius CCB# 87640 PHOTO BY ALEX JORDAN 391 W W. Cascade Ave Ave. | 541-549-2675 corkcellarswinebistro.com 541-549-9280 | 207 W. Sisters Park Dr. | PonderosaForge.com 732 SW 23rd St., Redmond, OR 97756 FREE Admission. Call 541-548-7483 before December 10 to include your loved one’s name in the reading & program. See CERTAIN AGE on page 30 Serving the Sisters Area Since 1976 CCB # 159020 CCB # 16891 Strictly Quality John P. Pierce • 541-549-9764 jpierce@bendbroadband.com WINTER TRAVEL! Tires, Suspension, Brakes & Alignment DAVIS TIRE Located in Sisters Industrial Park across from Sno-Cap Mini Storage 188 W. Sisters Park Dr. | 541-549-1026 — Serving Sisters Since 1962 — Raise a Paw for Furry Friends! rr Friends Foundation, Fu rry needs your support to feed 400+ Sisters area pets this holiday! e Make your tax deductibl donation payable to Furry Friends Foundation, PO Box 1175, Sisters, OR 97759 Donate online at www. g furryfriendsfoundation.or Pet Photos with Santa! Join us for a ceremonial candle lighting and reading of names, honoring our loved ones who have passed. Th ursday, Dec. 12 | 5:30-6:30 PM Hospice of Redmond Community Room the storms. Raising children is what rounded off my cor- ners and vanquished my per- fectionist tendencies. I never expected to live in Seattle for 33 years, after moving there with my first husband. I did hope to live in Central Oregon at some point in my life, and 15 years ago I chose to make that a reality. It was with that move back to Oregon that I truly found home and peace. Now, at age 75, I am entering that period of age- related challenges. A recent fall resulted in a broken nose (the first break of my life), which could have been so much worse. My doctor and I are working on reducing my blood pressure. The pain in my lower back is being helped by pain relief patches. CUSTOM HOMES • RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS Prepare for We skillfully fabricate your ideas (and ours) in steel, aluminum, copper & other metals. We do repair work, too. “Your Local Welding Shop” minor, prepared to be a buyer for a retail store. Instead, I joined the National Teacher Corps, one of LBJ9s Great Society programs. I spent a year at Highland Elementary School in Portland9s Albina district. Then I moved on to training as a stewardess for Western Airlines. The progression of my life from there has included many unexpecteds. My first husband died of a heart attack at age 39, after we were divorced. For 10 years, I was a full-time stepmother to four children, something never on my radar. That mar- riage ended in divorce. My greatest joys, the births of my two sons, have been fol- lowed by some very difficult periods in both their lives. It is those times that have pro- vided the real-life education and skills needed to weather t the a Saturday, Dec. 7 from 11 to 2 Sisters Art Works Open House 204 W. Adams Ave. (Open House from 9 to 3) 204 W. Adams, Ste. 109 541-797-4023 " Sisters Art Works (next to the Habitat Restore Parking Lot) FURRY FRIEND S FOUNDATION 501(c)3 offering FREE spay/neuter/vaccinations services and pet food bank to Sisters area families. This ad sponsored by The Nugget Newspaper