50 over 50 2022 Edition

Absolutely! I had the rotten experience of getting breast cancer a few months before I turned 50. After surgery, I developed post mastectomy pain syndrome and spent 2 years trying to get better from that. I had another surgery during this time. My 50s have been ridiculous and painful and exhausting to say the least. I will be 52 by the time of the photoshoot.  

That I am stronger and more competent than my younger self realizes. When life is crushing you, think first and then act from a place of love rather than pain. Also, forgive yourself sooner.   

I hope they would see strength and light and confidence and peace. I would want them to know that I tried to help others during my life. 

I am one of two daughters born to a small-town midwestern white woman and a black man from New York. I grew up in New York but with a midwestern twist to my values. My extended family on my mother’s side is very close even though my mother passed away. 

My absolute greatest challenge has been the post-surgical effects of post mastectomy pain syndrome. It has affected every facet of my life except my overall love of family, friends, and my willingness to serve others. It is the most difficult thing I ever faced besides losing my mother. 

I am most proud of my sons. I have three of them and they are all great young men who are very giving and compassionate members of society. They are my heartbeats and my strength. 

My kids and my dog. Sharing my passion for spreading peace with others. 

I am the program director of an ultrasound associates degree program and I run a nonprofit called Races for Peace. 

To hold to your core beliefs and what makes you the person you are without apology and without caring too deeply about how others perceive you

A genuinely happy person

Father moved to CT from Norway when he was 9, parents grew up in Greenwich- met as teenagers – a few years after they got married they wanted to move to a quieter area so they moved to New Milford in 1969 and I was born a year later. They still live in the house I grew up in!

This probably seems silly, but balancing family and friends has always been a challenge- less of one now as I feel I more appropriately prioritize family

The qualities my kids have developed that have made them who they are

Sharing in the beauty of God’s creation with my loved ones, and even when alone. Anyone I am close to knows how much I enjoy sunsets. They never get old! Sunrises, ocean air, watching the birds, animals, and human babies interact with each other – lots of joy from that. Not to mention cooking a beautiful meal with gorgeous produce grown at a local farm. And just being with each other.  All of these things bring me joy!