[Women] April meeting
Annie Warmke
annie at bluerockstation.com
Tue Apr 7 12:01:15 CDT 2020
Laura; We will miss you so much!
On 4/7/2020 12:53 PM, Laura Grolla via Women wrote:
> Hello all, this is Laura Grolla, recently a Marietta resident and now
> returned to Texas. I felt such connection with you all that I thought
> I'd add a brief share about reinvention as I am right in the middle of
> it. I must admit my soul picked a strange time but my soul has been in
> charge and the path continues in its odd miraculous unfolding.
>
> I agree with Annie that reinvention is uncomfortable and a lot of
> work. I came to Ohio to help my beloved mother pass and thought it
> would be a year to two or three and decided to quit my job as a
> Victim's Advocate and paralegal in a small town in Texas and let God
> do with me what he or she would. It was exciting, no, thrilling, to so
> surrender to the divine. There was a peace and certainty to it that
> has stayed with me, the wonderful feeling of being swept up into a
> wave of purpose in behalf of a wholehearted act of love. I had a dream
> that I should go to Marietta and I woke up, quit my job and began
> packing. It took two months to compress my two bedroom house and
> studio into what would fit in my beloved Sequioia and I hit the road.
>
> When I got to Marietta, I did not unpack but simply lived out of my
> suitcases while I jumped in to taking care of my mom for 6 to 10 hours
> a day. It was heartbreaking and heart warming at the same time. I got
> to read Gloria several books while we looked up words together on
> Google and shared laughs over the excellent writing. We are both
> writers, artists and poets and I got quality time with a quality
> soulmate. Best of all, when she had lucid moments, I got to tell her
> specifically and completely what I loved and admired about her and how
> grateful I was for her mothering. This was all I could have asked and
> more.
>
> Sadly, my step-father seemed envious and hostile and began an almost
> daily resistance to me and my efforts that resulted in me getting
> kicked out three weeks before Christmas. I was terrified as I knew no
> one and the proximity to the holidays meant that no one in my family
> had the money to lend me to get a place. Enter our wonderful UU ladies
> and Anita Newhart's offer to stay with her. There began a new and
> very scary chapter of living purely by faith and finding all the love
> and help I needed from strangers. I questioned why I was now in
> Marietta. I'd lost my purpose for being here but found a job and
> listened to my soul. Good and bad things happened. I made great
> friends and began to do art for the UU cookbook. I sang "The Gloria"
> with the Marietta College Oratorio in honor of my mother but was never
> allowed to see my mother to tell her. In fact, at every turn, my
> step-father refused to let me see my mother. One night, deep in
> prayer, I realized that my bitterness and resentment of my step-father
> was making me sick. I sent a text saying I needed to forgive to let
> go. I got back a nice reply and found, two night later, that my Soul
> had given me another dream and I woke up knowing I had to go back: my
> job had become available in Texas.
>
> I have been back a week now and the reinvention continues apace. And,
> yes, its very uncomfortable. "A mind once stretched never returns to
> it's original dimensions." Marietta and UU expanded me far beyond the
> person who came here six months ago. I am a different person as I
> prepare to step back into my old role. I have experienced a sort of
> falling-in-love with Spirit because I surrendered so completely to my
> intuition, to that inner voice. It is no coincidence that a dream
> brought me to Marietta, a dream called me back to Texas, and now I am
> writing a book about dreaming.
>
> Texas is warm and sunny and I am glad for my big skies and the light
> that I love as an artist, but truly, the hearts of Marietta were the
> brightest and the best I've ever experienced. I would like to keep in
> touch. And if anyone would like to work with me on dreams and
> dreaming, I would love it. My grandmother had "the sight" and I
> learned to work with dreams from childhood and this book fulfills a
> lifelong pursuit. Thank you, all, for your warmth and support. I will
> miss you.
>
> ~Laura
>
> On Tuesday, April 7, 2020, 12:15:52 PM EDT, Martha McGovern via Women
> <women at fuusm.org> wrote:
>
>
> When was a time in your life when you had to start over? Yes - a very
> thoughtful question. Thank you for raising it.
> I'll speak to the time that brought me to the Mid-Ohio Area. I had
> had a lot of practice starting over because Pat and I had agreed that
> his career decisions would take precedence over mine. So, we had been
> in New York, Pennsylvania, and many locations in Ohio. Circumstances
> changed, though, when he retired and I, having completed my doctoral
> studies, accepted my first position at Georgia Southern University. I
> really liked the overall university, the location was close to one of
> Pat's daughters and her young family, and my teaching assignment
> (language development, methods of teaching reading and language arts,
> and supervision of pre-service teachers in the field) was a good
> match. The problem was the person who was the head of our division
> within the College of Education. After three years, the work dynamics
> made life unbearable. For my own mental health, I needed to leave.
> There were other issues, too: my mother's failing health, Pat's first
> bout with cancer and other ongoing health concerns, our
> dissatisfaction with the HEAT and social dishonesty of the South.
> Anyway, I asked myself where would I choose to live? The answer was
> the Marietta area. I had attended a conference here in years past and
> remembered its atmosphere. When I looked in the Chronicle of Higher
> Education, there was an advertisement for a position at WVU at
> Parkersburg with a split responsibility in the Humanities Division,
> especially Developmental Education (teaching strategic skills for
> reading, study, and writing for success in college) and in the Teacher
> Education Division (methods of teaching language development and
> literacy). It was my dream job, in my first choice of locations. In
> the interviewing and visiting process, I met Rebecca Phillips and
> learned of her connection with FUUSM. Pat and I had "flirted" with
> UU-ism over the years, but now I could see a coherence in my future
> -- a job doing all the things I liked to do, in a good institution,
> in a location close to my family, and with connection to a compatible
> spiritual community. We moved over Christmas break in 2000 -- a tough
> and cold transition -- and I started the new job in January of 2001.
> That start-over decision was the best one I ever made. Being part of
> this Beloved Community had made all the difference. Thank you. Martha
>
> *From:* Annie Warmke via Women <mailto:women at fuusm.org>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 07, 2020 11:06 AM
> *To:* women at fuusm.org <mailto:women at fuusm.org>
> *Cc:* Annie Warmke <mailto:annie at bluerockstation.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [Women] April meeting
>
> What a great topic! I started over (a farmer's wife) in 1981 by
> hiding in a battered women's shelter and leaving everything but my 5
> year old daughter behind. I re-invented myself after that so that I
> graduated college, founded 22 battered women's projects/3 women's
> funds/17 women freed from prison who acted in self-defense, and
> created lots of cultural/social change through that work.
>
>
> Next time I re-invented myself was in 2002 when I left the US with
> nothing but our 6 year old granddaughter that we'd raised from birth.
> It felt like someone had taken a giant eraser and wiped out my career,
> my friends, my goals but I'd promised Catlyn we would be there for
> her. During the 3 1/2 years we fought in court for her I stumbled
> often but I found my way by writing for a newspaper about life in a
> small town (first France and then England) as a way to protest the
> invasion of Iraq after 9/11. I volunteered at Catlyn's school to
> teach English to French 5 year olds, and I translated the SOS FEMMES'
> prostitutes health and safety "Little Blue Book". I grew an amazing
> garden, made friends, traveled everywhere imaginable, and tried not to
> loose my mind as I mourned the life I left behind.
>
>
> When we returned to the US in late 2004 I re-invented myself again as
> the builder of an Earthship, the first one east of the MS. I learned
> how to use the Internet and social media, won custody in court of our
> granddaughter (that's a whole other story involving the grand jury
> indicting us and more), and learned to be a goat herder.
>
>
> Reinventing is a miserable experience - it's like being birthed into a
> new reality and trying to make sense of what works, and what doesn't.
> I had hoped not to do it again, but I find myself there right now with
> our need to push our business online. We'd been doing that a little
> at a time, but now we have had to push all of our classes and
> workshops to the fall with the hope that things will improve for our
> country's health. While we'd had a plan to speed up the process of
> the transition in late 2020 we find that we must let go of everything
> else and just focus on this one thing for now. Perhaps the most
> nerving for me is the separation physically of those I love deeply.
> It is growing difficult as the days pass with no physical contact with
> people like our granddaughter, who is married and lives an hour away
> with poor transportation. Jay and I have agreed we will sequester
> here until it is safe, which means no visitors. It is especially
> difficult to say "no" to former interns who would like to be here with
> us since they are not going to work everyday, but if we are to remain
> reasonably safe we need to honor our agreement to each other.
>
>
> Perhaps there will be one more re-invention as I grow older and have
> to stop being a goat herder, and a farmer. That work sustains me so I
> am making plans for how I can continue to hand on to that part of my
> life. But then the best laid plans often are not how things turn
> out. I hope to hear more stories from each other you. Annie
>
>
> On 4/6/2020 9:10 PM, Rebecca Phillips via Women wrote:
>> Great topic!
>>
>> "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."--
>> Cicero
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Women <women-bounces at fuusm.org>
>> <mailto:women-bounces at fuusm.org> on behalf of Gillian via Women
>> <women at fuusm.org> <mailto:women at fuusm.org>
>> *Sent:* Monday, April 6, 2020 8:04 PM
>> *To:* A List for the Women of FUUSM <women at fuusm.org>
>> <mailto:women at fuusm.org>
>> *Cc:* Gillian <gillianabbo at gmail.com> <mailto:gillianabbo at gmail.com>
>> *Subject:* [Women] April meeting
>> Hello
>> As the host for the now cancelled April Women’s Group meeting it was
>> suggested that I still pose a question for discussion as we do at our
>> gathering. We can email any response that you may wish to share. I
>> was talking with Caitlin and it is her topic.
>> Hugs Gillian
>>
>> Women’s Group Topic of Discussion:
>> Though these are strange and difficult times, a promising future
>> still lingers on the horizon. The sun is shining its face, the birds
>> are singing in their choirs, and the flowers are beginning to stretch
>> their arms skyward. Spring is upon is. And with it comes rebirth,
>> renewal, and hope.
>>
>> This leads me to my topic of conversation for the week. When was a
>> time in your life where you had to start again? Find a new beginning?
>> Start a new chapter in your life? Was it through circumstance forced
>> upon you, or was it perhaps spurred through your own free will?
>>
>> There are many such occasions in an individual’s life, but I hope
>> that we can focus on the positive. In these difficult times it’s good
>> to remember how much we’ve already overcome and how we’ve thrived
>> regardless. Like a dandelion through the pavement’s cracks, we will
>> all see the light again.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Women at fuusm.org <mailto:Women at fuusm.org>
>> http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/women_fuusm.org
> --
> Annie Warmke
> Farmer, activist, consultant, writer
> Blue Rock Station/Warmke Farm LLC
> www.bluerockstation.com <http://www.bluerockstation.com>
> (740) 674-4300 or (740) 252-6295 Mobile
>
> Radio: When the Biomass Hits the Wind Turbine
> WOUB Digital Wednesday 9 am
> WGRN Digital Friday 11:30 am & Saturday 8:30 am
>
> Publications:
> The Business of Goat Herding (BRS Media)
> The Journey Toward Nothing (BRS Media)
> Naturally Healthy Goats (BRS Media)
>
> Podcasts: bluerockstation.com
> When the Biomass Hits the Wind Turbine
> Arriving at Blue Rock Station
>
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> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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--
Annie Warmke
Farmer, activist, consultant, writer
Blue Rock Station/Warmke Farm LLC
www.bluerockstation.com
(740) 674-4300 or (740) 252-6295 Mobile
Radio: When the Biomass Hits the Wind Turbine
WOUB Digital Wednesday 9 am
WGRN Digital Friday 11:30 am & Saturday 8:30 am
Publications:
The Business of Goat Herding (BRS Media)
The Journey Toward Nothing (BRS Media)
Naturally Healthy Goats (BRS Media)
Podcasts: bluerockstation.com
When the Biomass Hits the Wind Turbine
Arriving at Blue Rock Station
--
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