My Friend Terry

Terry knew from the time she was seven that she wanted to be a teacher. She taught neighboring children ballet in her bedroom, growing up in Santa Monica. By the time she was fourteen, she was earning fifty cents an hour! She studied ballet, jazz and tap and had the good fortune to learn piano from her mother Helen, a classical ballet accompanist.Her first job, after graduating from UCLA with a music degree, was to teach physical education in Venice, California. She has gone on to teach art, ceramics, reading /literature, creative writing, cooking and never once a music class! As Terry put it, “All that work in music theory, counterpoint, harmony and learning to play many instruments in the orchestra, and never used any of it.”After forty years of teaching in public schools, Terry retired, but not for long. She is now teaching sewing classes for adults and children. And to sum it all up, Terry says…..“I enjoy life to the fullest, doing just exactly what I want, when I want, because I earned it and just because I can. Having just turned 75, I like the saying ‘Every day above the ground is a blessing’ and I hope to have at least twenty more years to create, enjoy my six cats, my lovely friends, my wonderful house and stay as healthy as I am now. I’m so grateful for the life I’m living right now and will continue to strive to be the best I can.”Well now, that sounds like a plan!