10 Years Ago I Reflected on 13 Years Ago, Which Means 23 Years @VisliselSue

Sue and Bryan, Spring 2007

For the heck of it, I decided to look at what I wrote 10 years ago today on my first blog, The LilyPad Chronicles. On this date, ten years ago, I wrote a post reflecting on 13 years ago that date (which must mean that August 28th is a day for me to reach back into the past - there must be some sort of cosmic, Great Whatever pull to keep the day on the radar).

Sure enough, in 1995 I was working as an intern at the Beargrass Creek Task Force through the Louisville Nature Center where I ran a nature camp for teens and met Lauri Wade. Lauri, a teacher at the Brown School, talked to Sue, an  English teacher, and told her she needed to meet me. Sue, a walker and dog lover, decided to do just that. I was leaving our shed (yes, we worked in a brown-recluse infested shed) when I saw a woman walking a dog and part of my Nature Preserve duty was to inform people that dogs weren't allowed. Of course, this is humorous now as Sue became one of my best champions and Harley has a special place in both our hearts.

Fast forward, I began doing observations in her classroom and then was a student teacher the following spring. The bond was instantaneous and, in 1997, I attempted to fill her large shoes at the school and our relationship grew stronger and stronger and stronger. She remains the best mentor/guide I've ever had and remains my Louisville mom. She took me to dance performances and I made her go to U of L basketball games (where she saw the athleticism as a ballet, too).

It's somewhat surreal for me to think about that magic 23 years ago, when the two of us met. I knew as soon as I entered that building that I found paradise and a fairy godmother who continues to be a sage and angel. Phew.

The photo above is of us at a last gathering before I departed Louisville to earn my doctorate. It is amazing how much happens in such time....Juliette...Baby...Ditto...Glamis....and Pilot.

Yes, Pilot...that's who Sue's been for me, helping me to steer in the right direction when my flight gets a little wonky.

So here's to Sue and our anniversary. 23 years today. It doesn't seem possible. She may be a few states away, but I carry her brilliance, advice, good will, energy, and laughter with me wherever I go.