There I was, my junior year in high school, ready to splash into college life with passionate pursuit. I loved being a student. Still do.

I had my eye on the University of Northern Colorado. Actually, I had my eye on Boulder. My sister lived in Colorado and I loved my visits there. Cool, crisp mountain air. A general feeling of robust health and happiness everywhere. Having grown up in Buffalo, New York where snow started falling in October and didn’t fully disappear until July, I was struck by the SUNSHINE in Colorado. Blazing sunshine. The kind of sun that warms your face and soothes your soul.

At first I thought it was just a lack of foliage sheltering me from the sun. There weren’t as many trees in Colorado. But later, I discovered the sun simply shined a whole lot more in Colorado than it did in my beloved home town. Colorado didn’t have the Buffalo “lake effect.”

I was accepted at UNC but my parents had different plans. You see, college loans weren’t an option. My parents grew up in the midst of the Great Depression. In my family you worked your way through school. You did not accrue debt. And you certainly didn’t travel across the country to pay double the tuition when you had “perfectly good schools in your own back yard.” I often wondered why we had gone through the application process but that wasn’t something we discussed. So, I took my place at the University of Buffalo. I worked my way through school. And, I visited Colorado every chance I got.

Fast forward more years than I care to count, and I finally claimed my opportunity to study in Boulder. Only instead of UNC, I traveled to Colorado each month to attend the Institute for the Psychology of Eating where I immersed myself in mind body nutrition. After working with so many women on food and body image, I am convinced our nutritional health and well-being goes far deeper than the plate. We have much more to learn about how we craft our nourishment stories and WHO is writing the script. Marc David, founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, has some east coast offerings in June. Be sure to check them out. You’ll find more information on his website.

Boulder, Colorado continues to provide me with new and interesting learning opportunities. Yes, my life has been characterized by an insatiable desire to UNDERSTAND every thing I undertake, including the ever-growing world of technology.

Have you met my “other” husband?

Adorable isn’t he?

Yes, this is Forest, my “tech husband.” I met Forest in 2008. I had just started my entrepreneurial journey after thirty years in the field of education. I was

terrified

exhilarated

and completely clueless about what it meant to create a website that illuminated my new business and all that I wanted to communicate to my prospective clients. HTML was an acronym that sent me scurrying under the table. (I abhor acronyms.) I had no intention of learning “code.”

I simply placed my web copy in his competent hands and went “shopping” for pretty pictures to accompany the text. THAT part of the process I loved.

Forest created my very first website. But he did far more than design the highly functional and beautiful website that launched me into the online world. He taught me how to navigate the technological terrain that can easily drive a creative spirit like me, TO DISTRACTION.

Our relationship grew. I discovered a “teacher” in Forest. I have a soft spot in my heart for teachers. I also have a very good eye for excellence. I can remember sending Forest emails (and on one occasion a desperate text message) communicating my techno-despair. He guided me gently and confidently off the ledge. I will never forget the conversation that gave me the confidence to continue learning and growing into the systems that would one day take my business to a whole new level or the words he spoke to me in midst of one of my hair-pulling, brain baffling techno-confusion episodes. He said, “Sue Ann, you’re doing great. Just lean into the complexity of this challenge and trust that you’ll master all that you need to know.” I fell in love with him on the spot. No, not that kind of love. I am a happily married woman. I fell in love with the confidence he imbued in me to succeed. That’s what good teachers do.

Fast forward a few years. Forest continues to support me as I grow my online community. And I’ve even had a few opportunities to support HIS creative muse. My next learning adventure also has its roots in Boulder, Colorado. Only this time I won’t need to travel. Forest has created a brilliant online course for entrepreneurs who are overwhelmed by all the tech stuff they need to know to run a business or for people who just want to become a ‘Web Tech Genius’. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to call myself a web tech genius but I LOVE feeling more empowered in the technology world.

And, I LOVE all things Boulder.

Leave me a comment and tell me how YOU keep the intellectual fire lit.