It seems that I never get to do as much hiking as I would like to do in the fall. This year we only got out twice.
The first time was when Terry and I hiked to Angel Falls Overlook in the Big South Fork, Tennessee.
But we also got to hike with my sister and her husband to Hawksbill Craig, and iconic spot in Arkansas that I can’t believe I’ve never been to before. Cross this one off the bucket list!
I’m sure I made Terry nervous by getting so close to the edge. But that is honestly part of the fun for me. At least I promised not to make a selfie at the edge!
Now that my homeschooling days are over (see here), I have decided to embark on a sabbatical of sorts - hopefully taking this school year to reflect and think about what is next for me.
In my “past life” (pre full-time motherhood) I was a chemical engineer. I’m not sure if it was the best fit for my strengths, but I did enjoy all my assignments. My career started as an intern at Texas Eastman, and bless his heart, my Dad took some photos of me there and tried to make a chemical plant look good.
I ended up spending my entire chemical engineering career at Eastman - working at Arkansas Eastman in Batesville, Texas Eastman in Longview, and Tennessee Eastman in Kingsport.
Now, 30 years later, an environmental firm in Knoxville hired me as an intern! This spot was supposed to go to a college student, but they agreed to give me a try. It was fun being in a lab again and doing nerdy stuff.
The building looked a little better than a chemical plant
Jacques and Andrea (my bosses)
I can’t talk about the actual research I was working on as I signed secrecy agreements, but it was interesting, and I learned a lot. There was a lot of biology mixed in with the chemistry which took some getting used to. I really did not like having to wear gloves all the time to keep from contaminating things! I enjoyed the people I worked with, especially a PhD South African named Jacques who was forgiving of all my mistakes and laughed at all my jokes. I thought I proved I still “had it” technically, but when my internship ended, I wasn’t offered a real job of any kind. It was a bit disappointing and made me question my abilities. But I also determined that I really didn’t want to work 40 hours a week anyway. So whatever is next for me, it won’t be this, and that’s OK.
There's nothing like seeing old friends, and music has a great power to bring back memories. The New Creations was the college choir at University Baptist Church - my church home in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After being a fan in the congregation for years, I got to be in the choir from 1979-1984, forming many lifelong friendships. My sisters were also in New Creations, but none of us were in it the same years.
This November we had a 40 year reunion for everyone who had ever been in New Creations. It was glorious! And we didn't just get together and visit, we actually rehearsed and performed together.
I got to rehearse right next to my best friend, Brenda. It was just like old times. Well, the notes were a little harder to hit. Thankfully we were second sopranos instead of first sopranos.
My sisters were altos, so they got to sit together, but I scooted in for a photo. Here's a photo of two pairs of three sisters that were all members of New Creations.
Here I am with my two closest friends in high school and college, Brenda and Teresa:
Our old youth and college leader was there, Robert Cupp:
And the Nathan I named my Nathan after:
Phil Goff (who made me happy by recognizing me right away):
And his brother, Matt:
And my buddy, Jeff, who worked with me at Arkansas Eastman, Texas Eastman, and Tennessee Eastman:
Jeff and Beth Presley with Tanner Riley (our director)
And a reminder that we weren't always so old. Here's a photo of a skit the guys did on tour. That's Jeff on the left:
So after rehearsing one evening and morning, we had an afternoon concert for some of our old fans. We sang ten songs, but this was a favorite as it was written by a New Creations member:
Our name< New Creations, was based on the verse that says that "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." - 2 Cor. 5:17. We all realize that we may never be together again in this life, so our theme for the weekend was based on the following verse of "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling:"
