Chere Nabor:  

Life is a journey! As I look back over my life I am surprised at the many twists and turns it has taken. The road that I once believed was charted for me has branched out taking my places I had never dreamed of. I've had some on ramps and some off ramps, but through it all God has continued to bless. Blessing No. 1 - I have been blessed to know and have a wonderful family ... from the beginning with my mom, dad, sister LaVonia and brother James whom many of you know ... and then to expand with two daughters, Lei Sean and Dawn on what I call my first parenting experience. Learning to parent teenagers was quite an experience. My favorite line was "I'm not sure why children don't come with a manual. Be patient with me ... it's the first time you are a teenager and it's the first time I am parenting teenagers. We are learning this together." Well, let me just say the lessons were worth all the hard work. Lei Sean (Norm) have settled in Mesa, Arizona. Lei Sean is teaching in the medical field, loving the "heat" and Dawn continues to offer her commitment to Detroit and its youth, residing downtown and working in the education system And, oh what beautiful and wonderful young women they have grown up to be! And, wouldn't you know that as Dawn was graduating high school, the empty nest syndrome took over and I couldn't imagine myself without children and entertained the prospect of adoption. It was an interesting time in my life as I remarried an incredible man, Douglas Nabor and adopted two young boys, Julius and Demetrius (ages 5 and 4 at the time - now 19 and 18, respectively). I so look forward to seeing them achieve and become all that they are destined to be! Blessing No. 2 - Not only do I have the opportunity to treasure 7 children by blending two families (the his, hers and ours) and the challenges/joys of trying to blend families but I also have the honor of grandparenting 7 grandchildren who range from my 3 year old grandson who just completed his first drum recital to my 21 year old grandson and artist, the 1st African American to be accepted into the University of New Mexico School of Architecture ... and oh my, how I am so enjoying this time! But, the answer is no - you know - to the question of whether the empty nest syndrome is rearing its head as Demetrius heads off to college. Doug and I have decided that we will simply love on the grands, knowing that we are not on-demand grands and can bring them, love them up and send them back home to moms and dads. Blessing No. 3 - I have been blessed to have a great career. From the beginning positions at Bank of ...Expand for more