Wow Mary... thank you for sharing your story with us and I believe the BEST is yet to come!
Aloha Cathy,
Bless you Cathy for the wonderful blog page, what a terrific way for us to get caught up & keep in touch. The whole Reunion Weekend was fabulous -- coming back to my Burbank roots, remembering sweet innocent times, renewing old friendships -- it was all quite emotional for me and much needed. No matter where we've gone or what we've done, we've all had highs & lows. Maybe some of us had it easier than others but we all have physical or emotional scars and yet we're all survivors with happy, positive, caring attitudes... and we look so darn good too!
Here's my story. I went up to UCSB for college and met Sam Pieh the very first week. In 1971 we married, graduated, and had our son Trevin (who'll be 36 in Oct, is single & now lives in Portland, OR near his Dad.) We moved 15 times the first 15 years (6 states) for Sam's career so I did some substituting but never finished getting my teaching credential. We also have two lovely daughters, Taryn (30, born in Memphis, TN in 1977 as Elvis left the same hospital - she's single & quite the independent world traveler, currently in New York City she's lived in Brazil, Columbia, Viet Nam & France) and Tristen (28, born in Huntington Beach, she lives in Denver with her fiance & my little grandson Ash who'll be 2 in Nov.)
We moved back to the Portland area in 1983 where I was a busy "soccer Mom", very involved at the kids' schools & in the community, and as the Director of The Corporate Associates Program (fundraising & event planning) for the PSU School of Business for 7 years (a real paying job!) After "retiring" from that position in 1992 I served on the Board of the YWCA for 6 years and co-owned (with spouse & partners who did all the work) 2 Chinese restaurants. Then in 1999 on my 28th anniversary with the kids off to college or beyond, I finally crawled away from the marriage.
So what now? I'm still trying to figure that out. First I bought a cute house in Lake Oswego (Portland) which I remodeled then sold to buy a condo in Hawaii and an RV to travel around the West visiting friends & family. Since moving to Hawaii in 2001 I've bought & sold several condos and a restaurant, The Big Island Steak House. After selling the RV in 2004, I bought a lot, designed a house, set up a construction company with a friend, and over the past couple years serving as owner/builder (general contractor) I built my dream house. In March 2007 I finally moved in and we're still finishing up lots of details. So now I'm out of money, have a pile of debt and no real income but I have an incredible home and feel truly blessed with the many angels, friends & family in my life. In hopes of making a little money off the house, I'm trying to rent it out while I travel. So check it out & pass it along to your friends who need a relaxing vacation. It's at http://www.vacationrentals.com #10140 in Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii -- "Brand New Handicap-Accessible Executive Home" (Yes Dave, I have an elevator!)
Now the plan is for my brother Vern to help me with the house so I can spend time in Los Osos (San Luis Obispo) assisting my parents (89 & 82.) Then I'm considering different business opportunities such as trading foreign currencies, selling Arbonne products, starting an event planning business doing weddings & rejuvenating retreats in Hawaii..... So much to do, so little time.
My sincere appreciation to those that took the time to talk to me at the Reunion; you made me feel better about myself and who I am, and reminded me of all my Blessings. My energy is renewed and I'm excited about the future.
Much Love & Aloha, Mary
Notes on the Ogle siblings:
Janet ('68) is in Sheridan, WY;
John ('69) is in Prescott, AZ;
Nancy ('71) is in Santa Cruz, CA;
Vern ('76) is in Richmond/Houston, TX; and
Bob ('80) is in Burbank!
9/18/07
It was so fun seeing you again, Mary... From Miller to Muir to BHS!
Aloha Cathy,
What a fabulous weekend! It was so nice to see you & reconnect with everyone!
I'm up in Los Osos/San Luis Obispo at my folks for a couple weeks before I fly back to Hawaii on Oct. 3rd. Since I'm not on my own computer I can't remember where to find your fabulous BHS blog - can you help me out?
It's so nice of you to do this for us!
Mahalo,
Mary O.
Sue Lane, Peggy Flora, Deanna Lloyd, Mary Ogle, & Marilyn Miller
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