Jean Gilmore (Lorensen):  

Wow, since high school? Let's see. I graduated from UNC in Greeley in 1978 with a BA in English and Journalism. I got married that same year to a "Jersey guy," (sorry Bruce) Tom Gilmore. We stayed in Colorado until 1980 and then moved to Dodge City, KS. Few jobs in CO at the time and my parents and little brother lived there. Our twin girls, Christena and Mary were born there in July of 1981, and we ended up living there until 1984, at which time we moved back east to New York. While Tom enjoyed this right away, it took me nearly five full years to get used to it! People out here are very strange and unfriendly, at first. In this state, you're judged for mostly what you have, not who you are. We had our third girl, Katy, in April of 1986. By this time we had purchased our dream home on three acres out in the country next to an apple orchard. As much as I love this house, however, it is now far too much for me to clean on a regular basis! I hold a permanent teaching certificate with the state of NY and am also certified to be employed for anything up to and including Superintendent of schools. I currently teach 12th grade British Literature and am an adjunct professor of Freshman English I and II as a participant in a local college's "Community College in the High School" program. I have spent quite a bit of time in going back to school to earn two masters degrees; one in 2005 from Indiana Wesleyan for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment and one in 2006 from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in Educational Administration. I have worked for the same school district for the past 14 years and have one more year to qualify for permanent health insurance coverage and then I am so out of here! I am tired of NY and I want to come home to Colorado! My parents live in Windsor, are in their 80's and I'd like to spend what time they have left with them. My sister Carol, and her husband, Dale, spent years living in Loveland, but recently moved to Stuttgart, Germany, where Carol took a promotion from her job in human resources for Woodward Governor. They have no children. My older brother, Mark, moved to Australia a number of years ago and loves it "down under." My youngest brother,Paul, is currently living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is still a Bronco among Lions, lol. He is a vice president in operations for Conway Freight Systems. Mark has three children with various women; we are in contact with the first two but know his third child, Brittny, far better. Paul and his wife, Sharon, have two: Cullen who is 22 and Kiersten who is 19, I think. My own girls have supplied me with four grandchildren. Christena has two girls; Arianna, 7 and Amani, 1 1/2. Mary has a boy and a girl, Dionna, 7 and Sean, 2 1/2. I adore all four of them and could not imagine life without them! Having only tried skiing once while I lived in its mecca, I became an avid skier here on the East coast, go figure-right? I signed up to chaperone with a school ski club 15 years ago and took beginner's lessons with the kids. From there I worked hard to a...Expand for more