Twink Lester:
CLASS OF 1961
Greensboro High SchoolClass of 1961
Greensboro, NC
Twink's Story
i'm a single woman of 72 who loves to travel and meet new people, see new places and things. i especially love living in different places for periods of time.
it's important to me to live my life with integrity and grace. i'm gaining spirituality as i age and i'm giving away most of what i have. you know what janis joplin said is true: "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."
doug and i were married for 40 years and had five kids who are getting old now and have six grandchildren. when i woke up and realized i was 60--had been at home 20 years, married 40 years, i figured it was time to spend the next 40 doing things that meant the most to me. it wasn't that marriage and family were bad--it is more that i needed to get on doing for myself for a change.
i lived in mexico for one year--a real stretch. i didn't know anyone, didn't speak spanish and had only 400/mo to live on. i moved to san cristobal de las casas, chiapas. it was so beautiful: 7,500 ft high and highs in 70s in summer and lows in 40's in winter. i had no heat, no hot water, and lots to learn!!! never was i a big fan of spiders and i learned to live with big black ones. i learned enough spanish to get along and i made many friends and enjoyed (after a rather intense grieving period) myself very much.
wouldn't you know it? after 10 months, i got hired to teach english in a bf skinner school. they wanted someone who didn't speak spanish well and would only speak english to children between 6 weeks and 15 years old. interesting, huh? of course none of the teachers spoke english, just the director's french husband. so i was a tad lonely.
when i moved back to the states, i traveled around the northern half of the US interviewing women for a book. it was a great journey and i only spent 10 nights in a motel out of 9 months. i met many interesting women who referred me to other women and always asked if i could spend a couple of nights at their house. lolita, my small black dog that i got in mexico, and i made great travelers. i never once had a "couldn't sleep" kind of night like i do when i am doing "regular life....Expand for more
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then i moved to vermont. in the 80's i got a ba and ma at goddard college in plainfield, vt and i decided that i wanted to live there. i had a great apt. and stayed up there for 5 years. many odd jobs presented themselves and i took advantage of them all--from teaching alternative high school students creative writing and fine arts courses, to organizing the goddard library with bar codes for computerized check outs.
just as i wss setting up an office to return to being a family therapist, which is my profession, i got the call from a friend of mine in chapel hill. her mom had died and she needed someone to share her condo. my daddy who lived in gboro moved to a retirement home in durham, 5 min. from my house. he was 92 then and his second wife had just died. he lived to be 95 and we had a good three years--not always easy, but i found out i'm just like him and he's the one that i got all my good and bad traits from! we ended up really good friends. and i have two children who live in nc--gboro and winston and one in seanca, s.c.
i'm always looking for new places to go, and new things to learn.
i'm an artist in several mediums (not an expert in any), but enjoy watercolors, pottery, and quilting arts very much. i write and have several books in my head and bits and pieces on paper.
politically i'm a flaming liberal and am happy as can be over obama's election. he has way too much to do in a lifetime, but i have great hopes. i also like to get involved.
moved to maine in the fall of 2013 and live about a mile from the beach. it is lovely up here and i love the snow and winters best. i have a guest room; so if you've always wanted to see maine, come to visit.
guess that's more than anyone wants to know about me. i loved high school and i loved being a wife and mother and i love my life now; however, i'm no pollyanna! i'm just easy to please and happy.
one more thing i'd like to add: i'm getting involved with the wounded warrior place up here in maine when it gets finished and will volunteer my time as a family therapist for the families of wounded veterans who come for a respite.
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