ABOUT US

This picture was taken in November 2019. And, yes, it does look like I’m choking Martina, but trust me, this was not the case! Little did we know that the “choke hold” in this picture was a precursor to what was about to happen in a short four months. The world was about to change as we knew it, and the foundation for this website would begin.

Martina

It was January of 1973 and I was sitting in science class. Our teacher was distracted by the impending arrival of a returning student who had been away for over a year due to her father’s job. As Ms. G. stood in the doorway, looking down the hall, I wondered what all the fuss was about. I had arrived at the school about the time this student had moved away with her family, so I had no idea who she was and, more importantly, what she brought to the table. I would soon find out!

Little did I know as we entered our 8th grade year, Lisa would become my friend for life. We would accompany each other to high school and college, expanding our friendships all along the way. There were times when other commitments got in the way, but our relationship would endure. 

Although a 900-mile geographic distance exists between Lisa and me, a Google Drive folder, texts and Southwest Airlines has helped us stay engaged throughout the waning years of our parent’s lives. It is our shared experience and willingness to lean on each other that has allowed for laughter and healing as we walk this unfamiliar path of caring for those we love. 

Born at St Joseph’s hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, I am the oldest and only girl. I have three younger brothers who, as children, were living illustrations of “pain in the asses”. They were masters of provocation and antagonization. Today, they are three of the funniest people I know, and nights spent with them usually produce side splitting, can’t catch my breath, tears rolling down my face, laughter. We have an absolute blast whenever we are together, and I adore them.

I graduated from Bellarmine University with a bachelor’s in psychology. Not ready for graduate school, I pursued a career that certainly had a psychological component but was not a traditional path. I landed a sales position with a contract office interiors firm and later moved into the operations side of the business. My entire career has been dedicated to this one company, as the work/life balance always seemed to fit with benefits like an on-site daycare and part-time schedules, when needed.

I have two daughters who are my purpose and make me proud every day. While both are nurses, they have taken very different life paths. My older daughter is single and a visit to her home is more of an unprecedented, zoological experience with her four rescued fur babies (two dogs and two cats). My younger daughter is married to a man I can genuinely call my son. They also have a fur child, a cat, who suffers from multiple personality disorder. In December of 2023 they became the parents of the greatest human ever born, my grandson.  

Lisa

As we entered 8th grade, our desks were pushed into sets of four, in an attempt to encourage collaboration and teamwork. Quite a novel idea for 1973! I was thrilled to be sitting with my best friend since the age of four - Carol - and eager to get to know the two girls placed with us. Who knew that 52 years later (damn, we can’t be that old!), that one of those girls would become a life-long friend, confidante and partner in writing.

I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, minus a short 18-month stint in Niagara Falls. I grew up in suburbia, where all the neighborhood kids played outside until the street lights came on and where everyone went to school together. I was the youngest of three and always looked at the world a little differently than my family.

I graduated from Bellarmine University (Go Knights!) with an art education degree and graduate degrees from the University of Louisville (Go Cards!) in elementary classroom education and educational leadership. I started my professional career teaching art at Crestwood Elementary, before switching to a second/third grade classroom. Preferring drawing over writing, it was through my experiences as an elementary classroom teacher and principal that I learned how to “really” write as I would model writing in journals for my students and confer about writing with peers. I discovered that beautiful and powerful pictures could be created through words and stories.

I am a proud mother of four children, four bonus children, and blessed with many grandchildren. My husband, Mike, and I have joined the retired migration to Florida but Kentucky will forever be my “old Kentucky home.” Though my father died many years ago, my mother continues to live in her home at the age of 93. New challenges hide around every corner as she fights for her twindling independence and battles cognitive and physical declines. Navigating this phase in life has pushed my siblings and me into the role of caring for an aged loved one, like so many.

Humor has been a constant throughout my life and I can honestly say that “given the choice to laugh or cry” in difficult situations, laughing is always the better option. I absolutely loved interjecting humor through my illustrations, inspired by Martina’s suggestions and stories. This blog truly is a collaborative, team effort. How did our 8th grade teacher know all those years ago?! 

We hope you enjoy and find connection in our stories just as we have experienced through our friendship.