hikingafter40

Back when my boys were small, I used to go Black Friday shopping with my best mate, Liz.  We would leave the house at 4AM, go to WaWa and get coffees, and I had planned a route to all the stores (mostly KB Toys, Toys R Us, Kohls, and Macy's).  It wasn't unlike planning a backpacking trip. In some years, we even had a driver to cart our post turkey butts around. My kids got older, and I no longer needed to buy overpriced toys on sale.  My teenagers don't ask for a lot.  They want books and experiences. I may not have taught them how to tie their shoes properly, but I am so happy that they learned that the greatest gifts are the people in our lives and the memories we make together. This year, instead of shopping, I joined forces with the backpacking outfitter, REI, to offer an #OptOutside hike on Black Friday through my MeetUp group for new hikers.   REI takes a great financial risk by being closed on the most major shopping holiday in our culture, so...

So, I truly suck at keeping a blog because, well, I get bored with it, and don't feel like writing.  Then I feel inspired and write in a flurry. In a notebook. With a pen. I don't feel it authentic to retype it all here, so, I don't. A lot has happened since my last post in August. For one, unexpectedly, I accepted a new job at the community college where I graduated and where I started my academic career 20 years ago.  As much as I love the students at Union and the opportunities I've had in New Jersey, it's time to go home. New Jersey is just too expensive, and as I think and pray constantly for my father who is battling lung cancer, I think, one day, hopefully a long time from now, but, one day, my sons are going to go through this with me.  I can't afford a future for my disabled son, Julian, in New Jersey.  He will always require a companion.  In PA, near our family, he has a chance.  Northampton is one of the best community colleges i...