Lindy Smith

Instead of “All About Me” I’d like to tell you about the events that have shaped my world for the last 59 years.  Hopefully, you'll be inspired to make your own list just in case someone suddenly asks you for an “All About” blurb.  
Being Prepared leads me right into an important life-shaper:

The Girl Scouts
My old Girl Scout badge book is a treasure trove of frozen-in-time 1960’s.  A large cursive signature shows how important these badges were to me as I signed off on my accomplishments.  Girl Scouts is where I developed my love of the outdoors including primitive camping and where I developed organizational tools by being assigned patrol duty for packing and cooking.  Back then, some girls called me bossy but I took patrol jobs seriously and guess what?  Those same skills are valid in my life today.  I’ve been told that I’m an asset when it comes to prepping for a group experience....that includes the title, "worst-case scenario girl"!

Children
My two kids were a gift to me that came in brown craft paper, not fancy wrapping paper. I decorated personally with creativity, challenges, surprises, learning and love year by year.  When they passed 30 years old, I decided that it was okay to still have those memories intact but turned the brown craft paper inside out, and now decorate it with admiration, love, surprise and support.  Don’t worry, when this side gets filled with memories, I’ll just put on another layer of brown craft paper.

Jobs
You name it, I did it: (60’s & 70’s) Jewelry store clerk, dry cleaning counter girl, health food store clerk, one ringy-dingy switchboard operator and day care provider. (80’s) YMCA instructor, seasonal naturalist, market research assistant and beverage demonstrator. (90’s) Camp naturalist, religious school teacher, teacher’s aide in special needs classroom and after-school enrichment teacher. (2000 -2013) Sporting Goods Store employee, marketing manager, marketing director, Nordic Walking instructor and business owner.

Volunteerism
Religious Services for prison inmates, river clean-ups, CCFA, multiple trail and mountain clubs, Toastmasters International and Breast Cancer Fund have filled my life with good people and common goals.

New Husband
This life-shaper surprised everyone, including me.  Rick gave me hope by believing in everything I went after.  His mantras for living life are, “no drama” and, “what’s the worst that can happen?".  When I met him, he instantly challenged me to be a better person by accepting myself first and then taking care of the rest of the world.  After 8 years together, he proposed and we were married one month later; April 2009.

Location, Location, Location
Being a Chicagoan for 35 years and a Buffalonian for 20 years, you might say I was a Midwest kind of girl hard-wired with seasonal change and Midwest sensibilities.  Getting married and moving to Florida to be closer to the remaining aging parental units ( ages 78, 80 & 90) facilitated a cleansing of accumulated stuff.  My sister gave me a needlepoint that reads: Live simply.  That was our goal. We off-loaded what didn’t fit into a 26’ Penske truck and moved to SW Florida.  I never thought I’d enjoy the heat and sun but I do love the vitamin D and the chance to be outdoors every day.  Even the storms are growing on me because often a rainbow appears during powerful rain and thunder.

Thunder and Rainbows

This is what life is about…