Patt

I am a veteran volunteer firefighter and EMT since 1992. Self-employed & married to the same man since 1980, we have 5 blue & gold macaws and built our own home. Honestly. From clearing the ground up. Took us 16 months. Nights after work and every weekend..... maybe a few band-aids too! It is my sanctuary. In the world surrounding us everything seems to be done at a frantic pace. At the end of the day my house takes me in and surrounds me with peace, time seems to slow down, and I can rest. I can walk the property listening to quail calling from the mesquite and coyotes singing. The world seems far away and the stars are so bright they bring tears to your eyes. Serenity is here. *******I have a great family. We put the Fun in dysfunctional. I would not trade one of them... even when they drive me crazy. I love hanging out with my sister & brother, those two can make you laugh so hard you run out of body fluids to leak! While we can drive each other insane, we all rally around the one who needs it. We support the one in need, we praise the one who deserves it, we kick the butt of the one who requires it and we laugh. We laugh through the good times and the bad. We laugh through tears and smiles. We laugh together.*******I love being on the lake. I have a Rinker 390EC cabin cruiser and I quite simply adore it. ( Yes, New Mexico does have water, well, for a while anyway until our (ahem, expletive deleted) governor finds a way to give it all away. Sorry, lets not go there.....) I have a Kawasaki stand-up Jetski. There is nothing quite like going out on the lake in the early morning when the water is like glass. Just me and my ski leaving the only ripples. Loons dive beneath the surface, herons and eagles fly so low that their reflections are so clear that you wonder which is the true bird. Following a golden path that the rising sun draws before you... Peace is here.******My sister once said that I see things only in Black & White...no Grey areas. Right or Wrong. Well, as a firefighter and an EMT I must see things that way. When you go to fight the fire, run Code 3 to someones medical emergency, drive miles after midnight to the scene of someones accident they expect you to make the right decision, do the right thing. They expect it, they deserve it. It is my duty, my honor, and my pride to do the right thing. Anything less would be dishonorable. ******I am a pretty simple person. Honesty and Integrity are non-negotiable. I mourn the loss of those qualities in so very many people that you meet. I shudder when I listen to young people who cannot even define the terms, let alone live the goal. *******Well, too much information? My apologies. Thank you for listening. It is who I am.