Tag Archives: school of business

Day 289: John

20 Jan

Key Lime Pie

Today was cold and rainy for much of the day.  Even so, I decided to make a Key Lime Pie.  What’s funny  is that this is the first time that I have made this kind of pie this year.  The idea for it just came to me this morning and one of the things that I have learned over this past year is not to fight my intuition.

The recipe I have is similar to this one .  It makes a lovely pie in no time at all… which I imagine is an important consideration for many people.  And it was important for me today because I had several important things to do in addition to making a pie including a volunteer meeting, a memorial for a friend, a work meeting, and an appointment to donate blood.   Oh, and I needed to deliver a pie!

My daughter was the one who suggested today’s pie recipient.  His name is John and he is one of her professors at the School of Business at Southern Oregon University. He was not working on campus today so I called ahead to make sure it was okay to stop by his home for a moment. He said it was and in short order I was at his front door, pie in hand.

Once he saw the pie, John asked me to tell him what this project was all about. He’d heard about the pies as some of his colleagues have been recipients, but he hadn’t heard my story before. I shared that with him and then we talked about how we’d both had kids who’d been exchange students and how those “kids” have gone on to become world travelers. We agreed that it would be a great thing if more kids took that step.

Then it was time for me to go. As I left, John thanked me again for the pie. And (this is my favorite part!) then he told me that Key Lime Pie is his wife Amy’s favorite pie. Like I said, I’ve learned to trust my intuition.

Drawing of John’s dog “Pearl” staring into the Fridge

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Day 26: A Woman with Heart

3 May

Several years ago I decided I wanted to go back to school and earn my Master’s Degree.  My children were older and did not need me as much and I wanted to focus on me for a while.  One day soon thereafter a group of instructors from Southern Oregon University‘s School of Business were having lunch at our restaurant and my husband encouraged me to talk with them about my decision.  One of the instructors was a woman named Hart and she was in charge of the Master in Management (MiM) program at SOU.  Hart told me that The MiM program is an advanced degree for “people who lead.”  It sounded like it would be a good fit and a few days later I applied for the program.

For the next two years, I attended classes, met many new people, relearned some old information and was introduced to new concepts.  At times it was incredibly difficult but Hart was always there to talk me through it.  I poured my heart out to her on more than one occasion, and personally think that she should have invested in Kleenex based on my tears alone.  But Hart was there for everyone – not just me.  She’s a mixture of so many juxtapositions: Hart loves a good joke but is serious when it comes to work; she is sympathetic when you have a problem but demands that you do your best work.  She was a good mentor for me (and many others) and I am very glad that I got to know her.

When I brought Hart her pie and told her that it was Strawberry Rhubarb (I swear, the garden is sprouting this plant faster than I can pick it!) she was delighted. And I was delighted to present  her with a small token of appreciation for her endless dedication to her students.

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