Kathie Siler:
CLASS OF 1966
Charter Oak High SchoolClass of 1966
Covina, CA
Kathie's Story
Perhaps the best place to begin is to say that I've lived in Delaware for the past 25 years. Having been born a 4th generation Californian I can assure you I never anticipated living anywhere else! I came here with my husband and our three children after living in England for 3 years-- my husband's only non-flying job with the Air Force. We've often said that those years living in England helped to prepare us for East Coast living and it's differences. When he retired in 1991 we decided to stay and have never regretted it.
I met my husband Marshall in our Junior year at Cal Poly. When he proposed he asked, "How'd you like to join the Air Force?" I said "yes" but I really wasn't sure if he had asked me to marry him or to join the Air Force! A few days later he handed me a booklet about the Air Force wife- Whew! (We were married during our Senior year ;-).)
Being married and having a family had always been important to me. When those dreams began to be realized though, I struggled because I had to face my own selfishness as I faced the challenges that come with marriage and having children. (In those days being a military wife was synonymous with being a single mother.) Having to recognize my inadequacies and need for help ultimately caused me to look outside of myself and my situation. When an acquaintance invited me to a Bible study I jumped at the opportunity to find fresh insights about myself and life around me. Ultimately I found the answers I sought which totally changed the direction of my life and that of my family.
For the past 15 years I've enjoyed counseling women of all ages. (I have a Master's in Counseling and am a biblical specia...Expand for more
list.) Nine years ago I started Neighborhood Link- a fun way to "love my neighbor" while organizing our neighborhood when there are problems. Fairly recently I started writing a blog (I KNOW, IT'S TOTALLY CRAZY!) I got into it because I signed up for a bloggers conference (it's a long story) so to attend I felt like I'd better at least try! As it turns out, it has been a good challenge for me in passing on some of the things God has taught me over the past 30+ years. (You can check it out at: hisglorysm.com)
Today my husband and I are grateful for the relationships we have with our children and their spouses. We are totally hooked on our seven grandchildren-ages ranging from 2 1/2 (our first granddaughter!) to 12 years of age- family gatherings are never boring! My husband works for Flight Safety, International as a flight simulator instructor with no plans of retiring. I'm thankful that we've managed to travel quite a bit over the years but am hoping he'll take more time off so we can take some trips with our grandkids as they get older.
As I reflect on the impact COHS had on me I am especially grateful for participating in acappella choir under Leonard Ceccine and for speech class with Barbara Storey. I'm grateful for the amazing exposure to musical classics of all kinds that we were exposed to that have blessed me over the years. Speech challenged and broadened me in many ways to think through issues that, at the time, I didn't appreciate. Later though, I found those early challenges to have been very helpful. High school was not a "fun" experience for me in many ways but I have very much enjoyed learning about classmates I've not forgotten.
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