“I want to be an actress” was my repeated response when asked as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up.  However, high school drama class proved otherwise.  “Now what?” I said in panic!  An airline stewardess?  No, I am too short.  Secretary?  No, sitting in one spot would be positively unimaginable.  Nurse?  Three-fifths of my family are already in the medical field; I want to be different.  Artist?  Certainly not, considering stick figures wouldn’t cut it.  Teacher? Whoa, let me think about this!  I sure have appreciated those teachers in elementary school and beyond who truly brought LEARNING to life, who opened up new worlds to me, and even rescued me at times when difficult skills and concepts were needed (or an embarrassment had occurred at recess).  Besides, as a teacher, I could still be an actress of sorts all day long, check.  I could provide nurture and care like a nurse for my students, check!  I would get to pore over detailed paperwork like a secretary, check again. Each day could be an adventure!  Creating original bulletin boards and student art projects would abound, not to mention lots of high-energy movement!!  Making learning fun- check and double-check!!  And kids?  Well, babysitting and being a teen volunteer in my community helped spur my passion.  Little did I know just how amazing the students and a career in elementary education would be! 

In addition to wanting to be an elementary school teacher, I also dreamed of marrying and having children.  God brought the man of my dreams, a surfer, into my life while attending Westmont College in Santa Barbara.  Bill and I married, lived on the coast, and had two wonderful children, Shawna and Nathan.  Bill’s job at the time would require a move to a much larger city, which was disagreeable to us both, having myself grown up in San Jose and Bill in Los Angeles.  In addition, we wanted to raise our children in a much smaller community as well as be closer to our parents who resided in Stockton and Sacramento.  A landscape architectural position opened up in Modesto, and the city of Oakdale was our fortunate choice.  Who knew the little town with the Snow White hamburger stand I remembered as a child would become my new home address?  95361 became our zip code 32 years ago. Since then, deep roots have been planted, thriving lifelong friendships have been established, and our family has grown in our Christian faith at Bible believing Oakdale churches.

Why is Oakdale so special?  Is it the memories of smelling chocolate from the Hershey’s factory (before Sconza) and watching our kids participate in the annual Hershey’s Track and Field Day? Or appreciating the privilege of participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fundraiser knowing cancer touches us all?  It may be because we rally around families who experience tragedy or celebrate victories together at our “one high school city.”  For me personally, helping at the Oakdale Rescue Mission, which rescued me from loneliness during COVID, remains an organization to which I am committed; pre-judged homeless citizens are now my friends!  Subbing on the canned and boxed food assembly line for the Christian Community Sharing food bank, participating in Love Oakdale, and volunteering for years in AWANA, Sunday School departments, and now our youth group at church is also very fulfilling, and I pray will also be a benefit to others. 

Or is living in Oakdale so special because of the daily or monthly relationships with friends?  Whether it is with neighbors connecting on walks, or my exercise friends at Tesoro and the senior center, or at the pickleball courts while we serve, slam, lob, and dink  – the relationships I’ve made in this community make life extra meaningful in Oakdale.   I am especially thankful for the Beach Girls – teacher friends who, for 18 years and running, go to the coast for 2-3 days annually during the president’s school holiday.  The Lunch Bunchers (originally from a ladies Bible study group) have met monthly, as well, for 30 years, laughing and crying together.  Can I mention my recent new friends I met playing Mah Jongg at OGCC and the Gladys Lemmons Center? 

Best of all friends is my Savior, Jesus Christ, who performed a miracle when I was hired to teach at Fair Oaks School in 2014. The competition was stiff with teachers teaching in surrounding cities and young first-year teachers from colleges afar wanting to return to their hometown, as well as stay-at-home moms like me ready to return to their called profession; all wanted to teach for the Oakdale Joint Unified School District!  My prayers were answered!  For 23 years in the classroom in Oakdale and elsewhere, I will ever be grateful.  Challenging?  Yes!  Would I do it again?  Yes!  What would I say to a new teacher? 

To summarize my joy of being both a 4th grade and kindergarten teacher in Oakdale,  what quickly comes to mind is the thrill of running into former students or their amazing parents at Save-Mart, Raley’s, or Cost Less!  Or the memory of driving into the Fair Oaks staff parking lot each morning knowing there wasn’t another place I’d rather be - anxiously anticipating the arrival of my precious students. 

And the best part?  During retirement, in between being a happily married wife, a proud grandma, a close friend, and eager volunteer, I still get to substitute teach at Oakdale Christian Academy, where it feels like a family, individual student needs are met, and the truth of Biblical values and Christ’s love abound.