I grew up in the burbs of Chicago. It wasn’t until I experienced a rare and spectacular thunderstorm while in college in New Mexico, standing on the sill and plastered against window of my dorm room (Yes, it was that large that standing was an option.), parched from months of no rain and almost no humidity, that I realized I was at heart a Midwest-forever girl. (Whew! That was a long sentence.) I married my teenage heartthrob and put down new roots next door in Indiana, a state I vehemently swore to never live in. But then I also swore kids would not be in my future. My husband and I have four. Falling in love has a way of changing things. Travel is a passion, as is observing people and culture. For hours on end. I love the changing seasons, splashing in puddles, making snow angels and snow people, and forest bathing when the leaves are fleshed out.
