JUST A SIMPLE GIRL

Looking back over my life, I realize how much has changed and yet how much has stayed the same.

It might surprise you that I went to boarding school in high school.

my school

My classmates were daughters of members of congress, a niece of Jimmy Carter, and girls whose fathers were CEOs of large corporations. 

I lived in a large home and hobnobbed with debutantes and other fairly snobbish young people. 

As a young woman, I owned a clothing boutique, ate at the governor's home, and traveled on helicopters with my husband to horse tracks to watch the races of horses he trained. 

I was never wholly comfortable with this lifestyle and when it all came crashing down due to my husband's serious mental illness my life changed.

I was thrown into a life that I was not prepared for. I had two daughters to raise and one of them was diagnosed with a serious illness.

My life was not easy. 

I eventually returned to college to complete my degree and then went on to three years of graduate school. 

It was during this time that I realized that what I wanted was a simpler life.

I thought back to my childhood, growing up in a small Canadian town, and what I loved about that time.

I loved the simplicity of life in a small town.

park in my town

It was a place where you seemed to know everyone, where how much money your family had didn't seem as important, and where you felt safe.

Maybe this was coming from the naive perspective of a child, but I know I was happy then.

Maybe the first years of my life and the last years have simplicity in common.

 I have found from talking to people recently that many people wish for a simpler life. 

I know that I want a simple and serene life because basically, I have realized that at the heart of it, I am a simple girl.